Silent Storm
by Wink57CS
Summary: What will happen when the destinies of a ship's captain and a mysterious girl intertwine? A Gaddes story; continuation of the series. [COMPLETED] Appearances by Allen, Van, and others...
1. You Never Know

Call it boredom if you must, but once I thought the vague idea for this story, I realized… there were so many fun possibilities in store! So, in an attempt to be original, here I go…

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What ever happens to Gaddes, the much-loved but easily-forgotten leader of Allen's crew of raucous sailors, at the end of the series? An in-depth examination of the future of a character who never seems to get the attention he deserves…

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**Silent Storm**

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Chapter 1: You Never Know

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The pillar of light was visible from almost everywhere in Fanelia, catching the attention of nearly all the people. Some waved, some called goodbye, and others just solemnly watched the lone figure of a young girl ascend into the heavens. She winked out just as the light faded abruptly, and the skies were as they had once been.

Most still stood transfixed by the resounding image of Gaea's savior rising in the sky, including the members of the Crusade. Several moments passed, until the silence was brutally shattered by a loud voice:

"Stop staring, you slime bags, and start the ship already!"

The whole crew immediately scurried to their own tasks, some of the younger ones showing their chagrin on their faces. Gaddes stood with his hands on his hips, watching the movements of his crew with an approving look on his face. By the time Allen came back from his sojourn to his mother's grave with his long-lost sister, the ship would be prepped and ready to go to wherever their captain wished to go next. All the repairs had been made with the typical efficiency of the crew, and the Crusade should run like it was brand new.

He scratched his bristly chin idly and wondered where they would be going. So far he hadn't been able to guess his boss's intentions. Perhaps to Freid, to check on the young ruler, King Chid. Or maybe to the ruins that were now Zaibach.

Wherever they were going, it was surely going to be nowhere near the grand palace of Asturia.

Movement flickered beyond his vision, and he turned to see who it was. Nodding to the just-arrived Allen, he said, "Ship's ready, Captain."

Allen smiled faintly, his eyes shadowed by his sadness at the girl's departure. "I'm going to miss Hitomi."

Gaddes shrugged nonchalantly. "Yeah, we all will, I guess," he said honestly.

Allen brushed back his blonde hair from his face. "We need to head to the Palas in Asturia first," he stated.

After giving the order to the men with explicit directions not to slack off, Gaddes returned to his captain's side, trying to conceal his surprise. What was the boss trying to do, make himself suffer more? "What for?"

"Celena needs some help in… in growing up. She doesn't remember anything of her time as Dilandau. She, in essence, has a five-year-old mind in a sixteen-year-old body. I can't teach her everything she needs to be a lady. At the palace in Asturia she will receive the best training."

"I haven't seen her today. She's on the ship, right?"

"Yes, in the room across from mine. She's been having nightmares lately, so she's resting for now." Allen paused for a minute. "I wonder how she will handle all the men around her…"

Gaddes' mouth twisted in a wry grin. "Considering she was one for a while, I'm sure she'll fit in just fine." At the look on Allen's face, his grin quickly disappeared. "I mean, I'll make sure the men don't do anything to scare her," he recovered.

Allen nodded slightly, and then looked out the view port once more, deep in thought.

Gaddes ventured a question that he wasn't certain the boss would take well. "Are you sure it's a good idea to go to Asturia?"

Blue eyes slanted back towards Gaddes. "Why not?"

"Well, with the princess and all…" He sensed he had trod on forbidden ground, but he figured since he had already started, he might as well finish the thought. "Won't it be awkward being around her since she's married now?"

"That's no reason for relations to be severed, now is it?"

Gaddes propped his shoulder against a bulkhead and crossed his arms. "C'mon, Boss, don't pull that vague bullcrap on me. I know what was going on, and I'm just wondering if you'll be okay with seeing her married."

"Well, it's not like I really have a choice," Allen stated bluntly. "I'll have to be okay."

"There's nowhere else to send her that won't cause problems for you?"

"Eries is beginning a diplomatic mission to set up a new government in Zaibach, which will hopefully prevent another wide-spread war. But I trust Millerna explicitly with Celena's tutoring. She'll know how to make Celena into a proper lady. My personal problems don't concern my sister's well-being."

Gaddes raised an eyebrow skeptically, but then shrugged. "Alright, then. If you say so."

Allen glanced at his second-in-command tiredly. "You are extremely fortunate that you don't have these problems, Gaddes. You have no idea…"

The dark-haired man grinned sardonically. "Watching you gives me all the idea I'll ever need, Boss."

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Gaddes found Allen on the deck of the ship, the wind blowing his long blonde hair back away from his face. He hesitated for a moment, not wishing to intrude upon the knight's solitude. Watching his boss sympathetically, he silently thanked whatever God was above that he was spared the numerous problems Allen perpetually dealt with in the aspect of women. First he falls for a princess who's betrothed to another, and then he falls for her younger sister, who likewise is soon after betrothed as well. Then he goes after a Seeres who ends up falling in love with the young king of Fanelia. Gaddes didn't know what his boss was doing to get in such messes, he was only glad he wasn't performing the same mistakes. Gaddes' relationships with women had been pretty simple… he hadn't misled them in the least. If there was ever a misunderstanding, it would be on their side, not from something he had done.

Sure, some said it was a shallow way to live, but it's not as if he went about from town to town womanizing whatever female happened to be susceptible. If one caught his fancy for a while, well then, he wasn't above a little fling every now and then. But never more.

Not that he didn't occasionally want more, of course. But his lifestyle didn't much allow for any lasting contact with a female. Besides, he had never met one that had really made him want to settle down.

That was the plain truth of it, if he would ever admit it. He just hadn't found the right girl. And he suspected he never would. Mainly because he had met most of the different kinds of girls that there are in Gaea everywhere he had traveled, and none of them had sparked his interest for any lasting amount of time. But some people were doomed to lead their lives alone, and Gaddes suspected that that was his lot in life.

Enough with the philosophical thinking. It was enough to make a man go crazy.

"Hey, Boss!"

Allen turned toward his voice, eyebrows uplifted in question and face carefully guarded.

"Supper's ready, if you'd like to know."

He nodded, not moving from his spot.

Gaddes raised a curious eyebrow. "What's wrong?"

"It's just… Celena." Allen shrugged slightly. "I can't seem to communicate with her very well. I can speak with her, and I know she loves me, and she knows I love her, but beyond that… I just can't understand her."

"Well, she is a woman, even if she has the mind of a five-year-old," Gaddes quipped.

Allen glared at him briefly. "I meant I can't understand her, as in, she won't talk to me. In fact, she barely talks at all. And I want to help her, but I can't find a way to do it."

"Why won't she talk to you?"

"I wish I knew." Pulling back the bangs from his forehead – _It almost annoys _me_ to watch him doing that all the time. I can't imagine actually_ having _hair that long... – _he said, "Could you bring her to the dining hall for me? I'll have a table for us; you can reassure her of that."

Nodding in acquiescence, he said, "Aye, Boss." To himself he said, _Of course. I'm the babysitter._

With certainty he strode through the many halls towards Allen's room, knowing his way around the ship as if he had been born in the thing. He grumbled half of the way, and then decided that complaining wasn't worth his time, and he might as well get used to this new role he'd have to play on the ship. _Wonderful._

Knocking on her door lightly, he said, "Celena? It's Gaddes."

The door opened slightly after a moment, and a fair head poked out questioningly.

"Your brother wants you to come to supper."

She nodded easily, and stepped out of the room, looking to Gaddes to lead the way.

As she walked beside him, he couldn't help but note that she was wearing a man's white button-up shirt – probably one of Allen's – and trousers. In fact, he couldn't remember having seen her in a dress ever. Not that he'd seen her all that often since she'd become a girl, anyway. But her choice of attire confused him somewhat. She wasn't Dilandau anymore, right? So why would she want to revisit that time in her life, even in a way that was so insignificant?

"You don't like dresses?"

She shook her head in negative, effectively answering his question and halting the conversation.

After waiting a bit for a verbal response which never came, Gaddes said, "So, you like it here on the ship?"

She shrugged with a faint smile tugging on her lips.

He tilted his head to look down on her. "You haven't gotten lost here yet, have you?"

Celena shook her head again.

Gaddes walked along for several long, silent moments until he stated dryly, "Make sure you're not this talkative with the men, or they might try to lock you in your room."

Her smile blossomed fully on her face as she looked up at him, and he couldn't help but smile lopsidedly back at her.

"You make sure you eat enough, okay?" he said as they neared the dining area. "Being sick on the ship, especially from malnutrition, ain't that pleasant of an experience, I can tell you that."

She just nodded to him.

"And be nice to Allen," he added as they entered the room. "He's had a tough time lately."

She raised her eyebrow as if to say, "Don't worry about it," before heading across the room to sit with her brother.

Gaddes scratched his head as he watched Allen greet Celena with a peck on the cheek and pull out her chair for her in a very gallant, very 'Allen' manner. Gaddes figured Allen had a point when he said Celena was hard to communicate with. He mentally wished his boss the best in figuring out his estranged sister. God knew he'd need it with a girl like her.

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After casual conversation wherein he had done most of the talking, Allen finally gave in to the irritant that had been plaguing his mind the whole dinner. "Celena, what is the matter? Couldn't you at least _try _wearing a dress for a while?"

She silently shook her head, staring down at her half-eaten meal as soon as the topic surfaced.

"What kind of a lady will you be if you persist in dressing in trousers all the time?"

She didn't respond at all to that question, merely placed her fork on the table.

In the silence Allen heard some bawdy snickering from a table across the room, where several of his men sat staring in Celena's general direction. Were they ogling his sister like she was some piece of meat in a store window? Allen could feel his anger heat as his suspicion grew. They certainly wouldn't be looking at anything else in that manner, would they? Certainly not in this direction. Then his suspicion must be true. And that conclusion was the last straw for Allen in a day that continued to get worse.

"Gaddes!"

His second-in-command – who happened to be sitting at the next table over – started slightly, but dutifully responded, "Yeah, Boss?"

"Take Celena back to her room," Allen muttered coldly as he started towards the group of men at the table.

Allen's parade-marching form did not go unnoticed by the men at the table, who visibly paled as they grew as silent as his sister. "We weren't doin' nothin', Cap'n," Rio said hastily when no one else volunteered to speak. He stood up from the table, his hands making nervous gestures in the air. "We was just wonderin' why a pretty thing like that would be dressing in men's breeches and such, is all."

Allen leveled a condemning glare on each man at the table, and one by one they withered as the cerulean gaze passed over them. The knight measured each frost-bitten word carefully and concisely. "If anyone of you ever _looks _in Celena's direction like that again…"

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Gaddes exited the room with his charge before he was able to hear the ultimatum Allen was about to give the men. _Sheesh__.__ Talk about a protective older brother_. Although, knowing the entirely-male crew of the Crusade like he did, Gaddes supposed the blonde's paranoia wasn't entirely unfounded.

Even though her face was completely shuttered, the dark-haired man could tell by her stiff body and brisk gait that Celena was upset over something. He lengthened his stride to keep up with her, and as if noticing him for the first time, she glanced to the side and said, "I can go alone."

Her soft, light voice startled him for a moment, and she took advantage of his distraction by increasing her speed.

"Hold on," he said dumbly, still faintly surprised by her voice. It was by far the most feminine thing about her. "No," he said after processing the actual words that she had spoken. He had already caught up to her. "No," he repeated as he gently took her arm, "you're not going anywhere alone. If you were my sister, I wouldn't want you walking around this ship alone with all those men around, either."

As they neared her room, she eyed him speculatively, as if trying to gauge his own trustworthiness.

He chuckled a little at her expression as he opened the door for her without ceremony. "Don't worry, you have nothing to fear from me, little one. I respect your brother too much to hurt someone he loves, and I most definitely do not get myself into problem situations like he does, either."

He saw a small smile finally curve the corners of her lips as he closed the door. Before it clicked shut, he could've sworn he heard "You never know" in that sweet, angelic voice.

Had she just spoken again?

He stared at the door for a good long moment.

_Nah._

Turning, he strode down the hall in the direction of the helm.

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Hope this was somewhat interesting. The story will become more exciting, I promise you. Oh, the plans I have…  
Reviews give me an idea whether this story will be worth it, so if you feel led to let me know… drop me a line, would ya?  
-wink

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EDITED Thanks to Ron and his Sakura for giving me those little facts… I haven't actually seen the series in a while, and so the thoughts didn't even occur to me… little things, but I hate even messing those up. So thanks to them!!


	2. Goodbye

Yeah, this chapter is kinda busted out in a hurry… But I'll be gone for a week, so I figured I'd leave you guys with something to read before I left… I apologize if I mess up, or if the chapter seems somewhat off… I was doing it in a hurry…

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**Chapter 2: Goodbye**

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_A Month Later…_

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"Gaddes?"

The sergeant left his position at the window to return to Allen's side. "Yeah, Boss?"

"I just received a message from Van of Fanelia. He says that he requires help from us, either in rebuilding or a new threat of some sort. I'm not sure which."

"It didn't say?"

"It was very vague," Allen explained, "but insistent enough that I understood he wasn't just shooting at the wind."

"Ah." Gaddes nodded as if he fully understood, about to tell the men, when Allen put a restraining hand on his arm.

"Celena's month at the Asturian palace is also up."

Gaddes looked at the blonde questioningly. Allen's eyebrow was raised in one of those expressions that said 'you-know-what-I'm-asking.' "Yeah?"

"Well, we all can't go to Asturia _and _Fanelia at the same time. I need you to go fetch her."

"What?! Listen, Boss, your sister's nice, she really is, but I don't want to be her _babysitter_ halfway across the Gaean continent!"

Or that's what Gaddes thought to say. What came out was, "Alright, Boss." _'Go fetch her,' _he mimicked in his mind._ What the hell?_

He grimaced to himself. Since when had he had such mutinous thoughts? There must be something seriously wrong with him…

"We're going to meet up with Dryden's convoy in a few hours, and he'll take you the rest of the way to Asturia. Find a ship there and return to Fanelia as soon as you can."

_Dryden. Maybe he can help me figure out what's wrong with me._ The dark-haired man brushed his hair back from his forehead and said, "Okay, Boss, I'll make sure your sister gets back without trouble."

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Seeing the Crusade sailing away without him gave Gaddes a funny feeling in his gut. Had he ever seen the ship like this? He was sure he didn't like it at all.

A hand clapped his shoulder, and he turned with a smile of greeting. "Dryden! How've you been doing?"

"As well as could be expected, I imagine."

"So what brings you back to Asturia so soon? Finished what you set out to do?"

"Not entirely, actually. A message from my wife is making me come back."

"Oh, really?" Gaddes lifted his eyebrows. "What did the message say?"

"Not a whole lot, other than the polite insinuation that I was to return home as soon as I could."

Gaddes frowned slightly. "Seems no one's really writing anything nowadays…" he muttered to himself.

Dryden chuckled. "Yeah, just about." He gestured towards the library, and they began walking as the conversation continued. "Now, I couldn't help but notice you had this 'we-have-to-talk' look on your face when I first saw you. What's up?"

"I'm not really sure," Gaddes admitted hesitantly. "I feel disloyal talking like this, but… I can't really deal with Allen all that much lately."

The merchant frowned. "Why not?"

"See, that's what I can't figure. Not much changed within the past month, but I feel almost relieved about being away from his commands. Before I could've cared less – he was my commander, after all, so of course I obeyed him unquestioningly."

"You said you're 'almost' relieved? Why's that?"

Gaddes grimaced. "He keeps shoving his sister off onto me because he can't talk to her. I've basically become the designated babysitter for her. And that's why I'm 'almost' relieved."

"She seems rather old to need a babysitter."

"You know Allen," Gaddes stated. "According to him, her mind is still like a five-year-old's. She can't do anything for herself."

"That's what Allen says about all women," Dryden said with a dry grin, settling into a chair behind the desk. His statement wasn't really designed to speak badly about his former rival, just spoken like a simple fact.

Gaddes had to laugh at that. "That's true," he admitted, relaxing into a plush chair in the middle of several stacks of books. "But I don't see how that would screw with our relationship."

"Well, I'm no psychologist, mind you. But I have read some on this – "

"What haven't you read up on?"

He leaned back in the chair with a smile, putting his hands behind his long hair. "Well, the two of you just have different ways on viewing how to handle things. And this is the first situation when you don't feel the need to acquiesce to everything Allen has to say on the matter, since I'm assuming you have ample experience in that area, am I correct?"

"Assuming I understand some of what you're saying, I guess I have some experience."

"You have a sister?" he asked, adjusting his glasses slightly.

"One."

"Older or younger?"

"Older."

"I see…"

Gaddes raised an eyebrow. "So what, that explains everything?"

Dryden laughed. "Not at all. But I'd guess, since she was older, you didn't take care of her so much as her taking care of herself, which would mean you're more used to women being self-sufficient. Therefore, you subconsciously disagree with Allen's treatment, and find yourself at odds with him."

He looked at the man behind the desk skeptically. "How you can read so much into one statement, I don't understand…"

Dryden shrugged. "I try not to dabble too much into the subject." His eyes lit up with mischief. "Imagine if I actually did."

Gaddes rolled his eyes. "Oh, God…" was all he said, making Dryden laugh all the more.

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Gaddes arrived at the palace, feeling relieved that at least part of the journey was finally completed. Soon, he'd be in Fanelia, rid of the responsibility of Allen's sister, and able to confront whatever the problem was he faced. Dryden had tried to explain it further, but Gaddes hadn't been fully convinced by any of his explanations. He just kept using too many fancy words that really meant nothing to Gaddes. There had to be a far simpler explanation to all of it.

He stood nonchalantly in the doorway, letting Dryden enter the room first.

Millerna looked up from the book she had been reading, a broad smile curving her lips along with the blush that spread across her cheeks. "Dryden!" She stood up in a very reserved manner, and walked over to her husband, giving him a warm hug which he returned gladly. The hug lasted an extra second longer than she intended, because she pulled away, somewhat embarrassed. "It's… good to have you back."

"It's good to be back," Dryden said softly.

Gaddes watched the brief exchange with interest. Dryden was so obviously in love with the Queen… and she actually appeared to be warming up to him. Most interesting…

Millerna finally took note of Gaddes' presence, and she gasped, "Oh! I'm sorry!" She gave him a quick, chaste hug and said, "It's good to see you again, Gaddes. How are you?"

"Doing alright," he said casually, with a crooked grin on his face. "I'm just here to pick up Celena."

"Oh, that's right," she said, turning her head to call towards a door that was propped open. "Celena! Gaddes is here."

Gaddes turned his eyes towards the doorway, expecting the tomboyish girl to emerge.

Instead, an angel appeared.

He blinked.

Her hair had grown marginally in the past month, but something had been done to it to make it look far more…feminine. Almost reminiscent of Hitomi, except Celena's hair was an incredibly soft, light blonde color. The light reflected off of her hair, giving the foolish appearance of a white, gleaming halo around her head. The dress she wore was simple, but it was a _dress,_ something he'd never seen her in before. A dark, sapphire blue dress that seemed to flow like liquid shadow around her legs and bring out curves he hadn't known existed…

She looked up at him, and for the first time he noticed the color of her eyes. Almost akin to the blue of her brother's eyes, except for the haunting hint of green within them…

Damn it, what was it about women that they could just put on a dress and doll themselves up and make any man around them dumb as an ox?

Gaddes shifted uncomfortably, mind blank. As if he'd ever been all that well-spoken in the first place.

"Wow, you clean up good," Dryden said with a grin, breaking the silence. "I see Millerna has done well with you."

She nodded politely, her lips curved in a very slight smile.

"So," Gaddes began, clearing his throat. "You want to leave now, or what?"

Before Celena could give any sort of response, Millerna said, "Why don't you both stay for dinner?"

And before Gaddes could say anything to that, Dryden said, "Yes, that would be great. You'll stay, right?"

Gaddes shrugged slightly. "Uh… sure." He looked at Celena belatedly. "It's a little late to be asking you, but is that fine?"

Her eyes twinkled, and she nodded again.

"Well, I'm glad you're the agreeable type," he quipped under his breath as Millerna ushered them off to the dining hall.

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"You have everything you'll need, right?" Gaddes asked his charge, looking at the bag slung over her shoulder.

She just gave him her characteristic nod, and he shrugged to himself. "Alright, then. Let's get to the docks and get passage to Fanelia."

Turning to Gaddes and Millerna, he said, "Thanks for dinner, guys. I'll be seeing you around, probably."

Millerna gave Celena a kiss on the cheek. "Have a safe trip, you two."

Dryden gave Gaddes a manly slap on the back. "Don't do anything I wouldn't do," he winked.

Gaddes couldn't help but grin back at his comrade. "See ya," he said, waving as they began to walk down the street.

"Goodbye," Celena tossed back in her soft voice.

Gaddes looked down at her with amusement as they continued walking. "After this whole time, you only spoke to say goodbye?"

She smiled impishly up at him, not explaining any further.

He raised an eyebrow. "You're a strange bird, you know that?"

She shrugged, looking down at her hands.

"I don't mean that in a bad way, mind you." They walked on for a bit longer before Gaddes spoke again. "I suppose this will be a really silent trip, huh?"

She just shrugged again, looking to the sunset with contentment on her face.

The shock of her appearance having since worn off, Gaddes decided to just let himself enjoy the silence (which he doubted he'd actually 'enjoy,' but figured it was worth a shot). He looked off to the side, only to find two people in the shadows ducking away from his vision. Maybe he was just being paranoid, but they seemed awful suspicious. Vowing to keep his eye out, they continued nearing the docks, but Gaddes couldn't rid himself of the creeping feeling going up his spine.

Maybe Celena could sense something too. The look of contentment had vanished into an unreadable expression.

"Wait here," Gaddes said once they reached a port. "I'll go find ourselves passage to Fanelia; you just try and stay inconspicuous."

He walked to a merchant's ship not that far away, when he heard some voices coming from just beyond the ship.

"Is that Dilandau?"

"Are you kidding? It's a girl, man."

Gaddes slowed slightly, listening intently.

"I know that, you jackass, but don't you know he's a girl too?"

"What? How?"

"I don't know how the bastard does it, but it's his disguise."

"Damn, he's good…"

"He sure as hell isn't getting away with anything. He killed my wife and children when he went on one of his damn rampages… By God, he ain't gonna breathe a second longer so long as I have him in my sights…"

Gaddes' eyes widened, and he shouted, "Celena! Duck!" just as an arrow shot through the air to the space she had just been standing in.

Roaring with rage, one of the men Gaddes had seen earlier stepped out from behind a levistone on the ship, intent on pursuing the young girl. Gaddes quickly knocked him hard on the head, making the man waver long enough for the girl to run into the bustling street market. Gaddes quickly followed, checking behind him to see if the men had noticed him. The second would-be assassin was too busy tending to the first to pursue him, and the dark-haired man let out a sigh of relief. Now to find the girl. Knowing women, she'd probably run clear to the other end of the market with her fright, and it'd take the rest of daylight to find her. Sighing to himself, he passed a stand with bright, colorful blankets draped across it. A hand snagged his arm.

He turned abruptly in a fighting stance, only to find Celena standing there.

She wasn't trembling in fear, or even slightly worried.

That surprised Gaddes to no small extent. She was completely and utterly calm in the face of her near-death experience.

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"So, Millerna, what's wrong?" Dryden asked.

"I'm not certain, Dryden, I just… I missed you."

Millerna couldn't look him in the eye, and her husband gently tilted her chin upwards so that she was forced to look at him. "I know that's not it. You can tell me."

She sighed. "I'm worried about Celena. The girl never speaks."

Dryden just smiled. "So I noticed. But that's not all bad, is it?"

"Allen had hoped that I would be able to turn her into a cultured lady, and totally transform her from Dilandau into Celena. But since she wouldn't speak… I don't know if I could."

"She certainly didn't look like a psychopathic murderer to me."

"That's not it. I mean, she's not evil anymore… but there's something about her that I couldn't reach."

"That's not enough to worry about to call me all the way back to Palas, though."

"No…" She blushed. "I heard talk, too… From people in the market place and such. Dilandau has an… unsavory reputation, let's just say. If they found out that Celena had been Dilandau, even unwillingly, I worry about what might happen to her…"

Dryden put a comforting arm around her, and she leaned into it with relief. "And I also thought, well, if they found that out, and knew I had been helping her…they might go after me, too…"

He kissed the top of her head lovingly. "I won't let anything happen to you, don't worry."

She sighed in his half-embrace. "And I did miss you a little, too…"

He grinned. "Oh, really?"

She squirmed slightly, her lashes hiding her eyes from him. "A little…"

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"Come on," Gaddes said quietly. "We need to get out of the open and hide. Your life is in danger."

She lifted an eyebrow as if to say, "no joke, genius."

Looking at her speculatively, he said, "We need to cover your hair somehow. It's too noticeable. Stay here." He left without watching for her reaction to go to the stall across the street and purchase a large handkerchief. Handing it to the girl standing in the shadows, he said, "Tie this around your head so no one can see your hair."

Giving him another of those "I'm not a total idiot" looks, she deftly wrapped the kerchief around her head so that very little of the hair was showing.

"That'll have to do," he said, taking her arm hurriedly. "Now let's go before they recognize you."

They had just stepped out from behind the stall when Gaddes heard, "That's the guy who hit me!"

Feeling his heart jump, he tightened his grip on Celena's arm, intent on dragging her along with him as he ran. It turned out that it wasn't necessary; she was already running with equal speed alongside him. They tried their best to go against the flow of people, hoping that would slow their pursuers down.

Gaddes' grudge against his boss returned to the small part of his brain that was not concerned with escaping. Of course, he would wind up in a mess where he'd have to run for his life _and _for the girl's. Anyone else sent on one of these kind of jobs would have just gone and come back without incident. But his luck just seemed to take a turn for the worst. _Goodbye, simplicity,_ he thought cynically.

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Feel free to let me know what ya think. Hopefully the summary is more interesting… I like the short ones that leave much to the imagination. If anyone can think of anything better, I'm open to suggestions. Hope you enjoyed it so far…

-wink


	3. Yeah, Right

Yeah, so somehow I churned out this chapter in a day… and I don't think it's half bad. Something's telling me this is gonna be a shorter story than normal, but that's alright, right?

Thanks so much to all the reviewers that totally supported this story… It makes me feel good that people are excited about this fic! I'll try my best to keep it as original as possible.

By the way, I did edit two minor details in Chapter 1 thanks to Ron and his Sakura… Nothing that changes the plot, but helps it make more sense without plot-holes.

Enjoy!

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**Chapter 3: Yeah, Right**

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Gaddes ran along the marketplace, constantly looking behind him to see if the men had given up the chase yet. Apparently not.

He lost his hold on Celena – _Damn, she runs fast… _– and nearly flipped over a cart that was filled to the brim with piscus fruit. He apologized profusely to the caretaker of the cart while he was already starting to run again. He winced at the pain in his side. He was definitely not a marathon runner, and he knew it.

_Where did she go? _He looked frantically ahead of him as he continued to jog, looking for that kerchief he gave her. _What the hell was the color of it?_

His next backward glance showed more than the two original men following him. Word must've spread, and that definitely did not bode well at all. He was a good fighter, but he couldn't very well defend Celena from a legion of angry men.

Another problem presented itself to him as he searched for the girl: he couldn't very well call out her name to get her attention. "Damn it," he muttered under his breath. His frustration by the chase was compounded by her disappearance.

And he couldn't very well leave her to fend for herself, no matter how much he disliked taking care of her. Aside from his loyalty to his boss, he would not break any promise he made, no matter how he felt.

Right now he was feeling pretty helpless. Pausing next to one cart, he asked the woman, "Have you seen a fair-skinned girl with a handkerchief on run by?"

She shook her head a negative, and he proceeded on to the next cart, and the next, asking them all the same question. At last, a little boy in front of a cart full of bread said, "I saw a girl run into the woods right over there, in the direction of the graveyards. She had a green kerchief on, right?"

"Uh… yeah." It made total sense! Of course she would head over that direction… it was an easy place to meet back up with someone without other people around. He began to jog in that direction, but stopped for a second and tossed a belated "Thanks" over his shoulder to the boy. Slipping between two other carts into an alley, he easily lost the men in the winding backstreets.

It took him nearly two hours to make it to the graveyard without being followed, and once he did the sky was already darkening to night. He didn't know how in the world he would be able to find her in the dark – assuming the boy was right and she was here.

He scanned the gravestones and wished he knew which one was Allen's mother's. He could see no one, and felt a heavy lump of failure settle in his chest. He'd lost her. Who knew where she was now? Those men could have caught up with her, or maybe they had had someone positioned at the far end of the marketplace to intercept her just in case something like this happened. The things they could be doing to her right now…

"Gaddes?"

A wave of relief washed over him at the sound of that angel-voice. "Celena!" He turned to find the slight girl standing beside him, looking sheepishly up at his face. He embraced her for a moment before he caught himself. Backing away, he said, "Sorry, I just thought I'd lost you. Then I'd have had to answer to your brother about how I managed to misplace his only sister," he added with a fraction of his cocky grin.

She smiled in understanding, pulling the – yes, it _was_ green – kerchief from her head.

"We gotta get out of here," Gaddes told her, gesturing back towards the woods. "Even though this is a pretty secluded place, it's open, and with the way things are now, it's really not the best idea to go parading you around in the open, if ya know what I mean."

She nodded in agreement, and they walked through the tombstones.

As Gaddes looked down at her to make sure she wasn't hurt, he noticed something odd. "What happened to your skirt?" It was torn jaggedly just above the knees.

She shrugged, as if that explained everything.

As he thought, a faint light bulb glimmered in his head. "Oh, was it hard to run in?"

Her eyes turned to his with a sarcastic 'what-do-you-think?' look.

He held up his hands in surrender. "Hey, it's not like _I _make a practice of running around in skirts myself. How would I know?"

She ducked her head down, but not before he saw a smile curve her lips.

Feeling much better than he had been earlier, he whistled a little to himself before beginning, "We'll have to spend the night tonight in the woods. Nowhere to go at this hour of the night that we won't be noticeable in. Tomorrow we'll have to look for some way to get to Fanelia, and I don't think we can ask Dryden and Millerna for help… something might happen to them. You need to get a heavy disguise or something if we're going out in public, something better than that kerchief. And I hope you'll be fine with sleeping on the ground tonight, because I didn't bring much with me, I left most of your bags at the dock. I just have my stuff with me. I had a few more important things on my mind at the time. If we have to make most of the trip to Fanelia without a levi-ship, the trip might last a week or so, if we make good time. So I guess we'll have to get you some things if that's the way we have to travel. I think I have enough with me to be able to get you what you need. But if not, we'll find a way around that."

He finally looked at her, only to find her watching him with amusement. It was amazing how one could almost read her mind through her eyes. _You talk a _lot_._

He rolled his eyes. "One of us has to," he replied wryly to her thoughts.

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They found a little grove a few minutes walk into the woods where Gaddes thought they'd be adequately shielded. What did he know about forest travel, anyway? He ran a ship, for God's sake.

But Celena didn't seem to think it was a bad idea either, and for some reason, Gaddes found himself trusting her judgment. After building something that amounted to a fire, he gave her his blanket with the explanation that she had better sleep so that they would be able to travel tomorrow without additional problems.

He sat next to the fire, staring up at the stars that twinkled through the foliage hanging above them. He missed the easy feeling of knowing exactly what to do. Out here in the middle of nowhere, with nothing but a small pack of supplies, he felt totally clueless. What does one do on a long trek across a continent? Ride horses? He sorely wished he had for some reason asked Van how he and Hitomi had managed across the forests those many times. But then again, Van had had Escaflowne. So that was probably how they had gotten around, and it wouldn't help him any now. Going along the well-traveled roads would make the way easier, but then again, Celena was a bit of a target out in the open, so that idea only had merit if there was a way to disguise her adequately. He shook his head slightly. As many times as he had ordered the crew of the Crusade around, he had never had to make decisions as complicated as this. A movement to his side distracted him, and he turned to find Celena innocently offering a portion of the blanket to him.

"Ah, no, I don't think so," he said easily."It ain't that cold, don't worry about me." _I'm not about to get myself into an Allen-style problem, especially with his sister... even though I know I'd be fine._

Shrugging in an 'if-you-say-so' manner, she turned on her side and curled under the blanket.

Lying back against the soft grass, he put his arms behind his head and continued to stare up at the sky. Tomorrow he would have to deal with all the problems that arose from having to escort a fugitive in a hostile country. But tonight… he would just sleep…

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Waking to the sound of someone rummaging through his pack, he turned his head to find Celena being the culprit. She had taken most of the things out of his bag already, obviously searching for something specific.

"What do you want?"

The sound of his voice must've startled her, because she hopped backwards with a frightened-rabbit look on her face.

Gaddes sat up and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. "It's not that big of a deal," he said in a gravelly morning voice, "I could just find it for you a lot quicker if you'd tell me what you need."

She gestured to the skirt with a pleading look in her eyes.

"Hm?" His mind caught up with his sight, and understand dawned. "Oh… you want to change out of your skirt, huh? Well, I can't really give you my other pair of pants, because I know they wouldn't fit you for a moment."

Celena looked pointedly to his waist.

He cleared his throat. "And I can't really give you my belt either, or else _my _pants would be the ones falling off."

A bright blush suddenly covered her cheeks, and she hid behind her long bangs with embarrassment emanating from every pore.

He chuckled slightly, feeling very good about having made her blush for some reason. The color looked pretty good on her, his subconscious murmured to him.

He couldn't resist rubbing it in. "So, you still want my pants?"

She shook her head adamantly, not looking at him.

His characteristic grin filled his face. "Are you sure?"

Practically throwing his pack back at him, she walked quickly over to where she had been sleeping to pick up the blanket and fold it. She purposefully kept her back to him, and as he put back the things in his bag, he couldn't help but wonder if she was still blushing. Curiosity taking over his good judgment, he slung the pack over his shoulder and crept up behind her quietly, tapping her on the shoulder.

She whirled with a startled punch to his gut, and his breath left him in a _whoof__. _Backing away slightly, he held up a hand and tried to get out between gasps, "My mistake. I… didn't know you were so… easily… surprised."

Her eyes were huge with concern and remorse, and she touched his shoulder lightly and said, "I'm sorry."

His dark eyes flickered to her with amusement as the pain began to recede slightly. "Too bad," he said a little more strongly. "You used up your quota of words just to apologize when you really could have just looked at me with those big eyes of yours and I'd get the gist."

She smiled with relief, and handed him the blanket.

"You've got a pretty good punch there… for a girl."

She shoved him a little in the shoulder with a challenging look in her eyes.

"Well, for anyone I guess," he admitted as he stuffed the blanket into his pack. Pulling it back onto his shoulder, he gestured grandly before him with mock-chivalry. "Well, milady, shall we go?"

Rolling her eyes at him, she began walking as he glanced once more over the pseudo-camp to make sure nothing was left behind and the fire was out. As he caught up behind her, his eyes took in her status… just to make sure she hadn't been hurt yesterday, of course. Last night it had been dark, and he hadn't really gotten a chance to see whether anything had happened aside from the obvious. Looking at her now in daylight, he realized he'd never noticed how shapely her calves were… And her gait was a curious mixture of a tomboy and a little girl put together and displayed on a woman's body. It was an odd characteristic, but intriguing, too. His eyes continued down, and he thought, _her shoes must be killing her feet. Definitely not walking shoes. _He made a mental note that she'd need a new pair as well as decent clothes.

His eyes flickered up to her head to find her head turned back toward him with a knowing look in her eye.

"You need some new shoes," he stated, as if to explain the direction of his gaze.

She turned to look ahead of her once more, and he heard a quiet, faintly amused "Yeah, right" emerge from the air in her voice, which made him smile to himself slightly.

Shaking away the mirth she somehow created in him, he quickened his pace to catch up to her, if for no other reason than to remove temptation from his direct line of sight.

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Hope you all liked this chapter… I look forward to writing more, though I don't know when I will.

Til then, happy reading

-wink


	4. Better Not

Well, here's another one… This story ain't all that complex, all right, so I'm not going to make it more than I planned it to be… Hope you enjoy it some…

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Oh, and in this chapter I KNOW I mix up the movie and the series. You know why? Cuz I feel like it, and it fits! So there! Don't bug me about it, alright?

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**Chapter 4: Better Not**

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After another unpleasant chasing experience in the market that morning, Gaddes determined that it would be safest to travel through the forest, at least until they got to less-populated towns that were not so volatile in their justice towards the former-Dilandau. He received directions from a pleasant peasant along the major road while Celena stayed in the shadows, basically a short cut past the long curve of the road through the woods, which was exactly what he needed.

Traipsing along the forest with his charge, he hummed an old pirate song to himself in the ever-present silence. After a few minutes, he felt eyes on him, and turned to find Celena's eyebrows upraised with obvious question.

"It's just an old song my dad used to sing to me," he explained. "When he was teaching me to do all that manly-man stuff, you know. Sorry for the singing, I know I ain't got the best voice… my sister's told me that more times than I can remember."

She shrugged as if to say, 'it wasn't so bad,' and brushed hair back from her forehead. It didn't stay for long; it was too short. But the stray bang looked kind of cute on her young face.

"I can't remember all the words, but it isn't that complicated, if I remember right."

Her face questioned him again.

"The words? Let's see… something like…" As his face creased slightly in concentration, he began to sing, " 'We're rascals, scoundrels, villains, and knaves… Drink up, me hearties, yo ho… We're devils and black sheep, really bad eggs… Drink up, me hearties, yo ho… A pirate's life for me…' "

Glancing down at her face, he grimaced at the laughter evident in her blue-green eyes. "Not another word about my singing," he reprimanded gruffly. Her mouth stretched in an even wider grin, and he corrected, "Or expression. Whatever. No more."

She crossed her arms in a sarcastic 'whatever you say' motion.

Their 'conversation' ceased for the moment, and Gaddes tried his hardest to refrain from humming any more, so as to avoid any sort of amusement on her behalf. Once noon hit, he suggested they pause for a moment to rest. Easily, she agreed.

He pulled out the bread and wine he'd hastily purchased that morning and split it between them. Unsurprisingly, they ate in silence.

Gaddes leaned back for a moment, basking in the sun. "Let's not go just yet," he grunted. "I dunno about you, but I'm not used to walking for so long… and it's not like we _have _to be back by a certain time. No rush."

He closed his eyes for a moment, until a rapid tapping on his shoulder made him look up into Celena's eager face. She was motioning somewhere to his left with energetic movements, wanting him to follow her. Sighing to himself, he followed the girl for a few minutes as she led them to a sparkling river, glistening blue in the bright sunlight.

"You want to swim?" he asked dumbly.

Nodding her head happily, she kicked off her shoes and began wading into the water.

"Wait… what about your dress?"

She turned back towards him, her dress already soaked halfway up her thighs, shrugging carelessly. She smiled coquettishly, and again motioned for him to join her.

He crossed his arms slightly. "I don't know about that," he said dubiously. "Aren't there rules against swimming right after eating?"

She pleaded childishly with him to join her in the water.

Ruing the day he lost his ability to resist the girl, he took off the chest armor and removed his vest and shirt. Pulling off his boots, he glanced back up to find Celena had already totally submerged under the water. She looked like some kind of water nymph, frolicking in the river as if she had been born there.

Hesitantly, he approached the water, walking in to mid-thigh before stopping abruptly. "I don't know what you're thinking, woman, but this water is bloody _freezing!_" His hope that the water would warm as it got deeper would obviously remain unfulfilled.

She laughed, a crystalline sound that drifted across the water and embraced his ears. Standing dumb at the sound, he barely noticed when Celena once again dipped below the surface. Still hearing her laugh echo in his mind, he was brought back to reality as slender arms abruptly yanked his feet from beneath him, sending him crashing full-bodied into the frigid water. He burst to the surface almost immediately with a yelp, blinking the water away to find a gleeful Celena standing a few feet from him.

"Oh, now you've done it," he growled vengefully at her, a predatory look entering his eyes.

She dove back under the water again, swimming away from him.

Following her in hot pursuit, Gaddes was brought up short by a vicious splash that she sent his way. He wiped at his eyes, looking under his lashes at her. She approached him again, thinking he was still blinded from the spray, when he leaped out toward her with a roar. Squealing, she tried her best to get away, but found she was too sluggish in the water to avoid his capture. They both went under the water, Gaddes wrestling to pin her in place, Celena still wriggling in an attempt to get out. Absently, his mind noticed that he could feel the silky softness of her skin. She pushed at his chest under the water, turning to try and kick herself away. He readjusted his hold on her, and could've sworn his hand brushed against her breast just for a hazy moment. He pulled them both to the surface, gasping for air, not relinquishing his hold on her. Celena turned halfway in his grasp, her laughing face tilted up towards him.

Gaddes looked down at her, and felt a strange twinge in his gut. That porcelain face… those adorable lips…

A sudden burst of water to his eyes again stalled his ardor, and he abruptly released Celena in reflex.

She quickly moved away from him, still grinning in triumph.

All he could do was look at her for one long moment. _Too much, too fast, too soon._ What in the world was he doing, thinking of making out with Allen's little sister?

Although looking at her standing in the water, cheeks flushed and eyes bright, with a dark concealing dress clinging to every curve, Gaddes couldn't help but think of her as anything _but _little.

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After a few more minutes of tamer playing in the water, Gaddes could take the cold no longer. They both trudged up a small hill and lay in the sunshine, drying off.

"This is much better," Gaddes said, still reeling inside from the weird moment in the stream. "Warmth…"

She laughed lightly next to him.

"I don't know what you find so appealing about swimming around in ice, little one, but as for me, I'd just as soon _not_ freeze my butt off."

He offered his shirt to her as a pillow for her head, and she accepted graciously. He contented himself with propping his head on his hands.

A soft humming voice came from his side, and he listened to the song it sang for a minute or so, feeling somehow calmed by the pure sound. It faded away into the breeze, but Gaddes was still captivated by the melody.

"What's that from?" he asked, turning on his side to look at her.

She lay a healthy distance from him, close enough to talk to, far enough to avoid physical contact. Her lashes lay on her now-pink cheeks, and she shrugged.

"You don't remember at all?"

"I don't remember where," she said quietly. "Only that I heard it once, not so long ago, from someone named Sora…"

He raised his eyebrows. That was the longest sentence he'd ever heard her utter. In fact, he thought it _was _the only full sentence he'd ever heard her utter. "So, you _can_ speak."

"So can you, I've noticed."

The corner of his mouth raised in his lop-sided grin. "Touché. You certainly know how to put me in my place, little one."

She turned her head towards him, a curling blonde lock falling over her eyebrow. "Someone has to." Celena smiled impishly at him.

He chuckled. "You should speak more often. Why don't you?"

Her face grew serious again. Turning away from him, she looked upwards at the clouds that danced across the sky. "Why do I need to?"

"Everyone's worried about you, for one thing."

She didn't respond.

"They think that you might become Dilandau again, or that you're not… entirely yourself."

"I'm not."

He frowned. "What do you mean? Dilandau is still in your mind?"

She shook her head.

"Well then, what is it? Do you feel sort of… psychopathic… sometimes?"

Celena shook her head again.

"Then what's wrong?"

Yet again, she was hiding within the silent shell she had painstakingly erected between herself and everything else.

He let out a breath of mild irritation. "So what, you have the skills Dilandau had, but not the personality?"

She hesitated for a moment, and then said, "I guess you could put it that way."

"Really?" he said, surprised. "You mean I got it?"

His reaction made her smile again. "You're more perceptive than you realize, you know."

"Nah. It only seems that way 'cause I made a lucky guess."

She winked at him. "I highly doubt that."

"You doubting my luck?"

Her eyes said it all.

"I suppose you're right," he conceded. "After all, your problems only began once you joined me, and they certainly haven't improved all that much."

She clearly agreed with that assertion.

"But don't get all high and mighty on me, sweetheart," he reprimanded jokingly. "If you weren't so damn noticeable in a crowd, maybe we would've had an easier time hiding from those guys."

The twinkle in her gaze made him think back over what he said. _Holy crap, did I just admit she was 'noticeable'? Out loud? _Since when had he stopped thinking of her as the gawky younger sister of Allen and started seeing her as some mysterious, desirable creature? _I didn't say _how _she was noticeable_, he reassured himself weakly. _Maybe she didn't take it that way..._

Although with the way she continued to smile, he highly doubted _that_.

"Well, I don't know about you, but I feel dry enough to keep going," he said quickly, wincing from the brief vertigo that assaulted his head from the haste in which he stood.

Looking curiously up at him, but not offering argument, she followed him to where they had left their packs and dutifully walked beside him further through the forest.

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"Look just ahead," Gaddes said, pointing towards the road that they could see through the forest. "It's an inn." He turned to her with a wry smile. "It's getting dark, and I don't know about you, little one, but I really would rather sleep in a bed tonight."

She nodded enthusiastically, smiling up at him.

"We'll just have to find a way to disguise your face somewhat… or at least, keep your head down. Try to remain inconspicuous."

A slender eyebrow lifted. _Duh._

He'd since gotten used to her silent replies again. In fact, she was right in a little way… she didn't always have to speak to let her intentions be known. "Here." He handed her his pinkish-shaded shirt. "Why don't you wear this over your dress? Maybe that'll be enough for tonight, so long as you're not within people's sight for long."

Pulling it on, she rolled the sleeves up so that they didn't hang five inches past her fingertips.

He put his vest on without the shirt, and turned to gauge her opinion. "Does it look okay?"

The look in her eyes said it all. _You look ridiculous._

"Well, would you rather I walk around without anything on?"

Her cheeks turned a faint pink color, similar to the shirt she was now wearing, and she shook her head. "Better not," she said with amusement.

Smiling to himself at the sound of her voice, they walked for the few more minutes until they arrived at the inn. "Now, remember, I'll do the talking."

She bit her lip, obviously holding in a chuckle.

He rolled his eyes slightly, belatedly remembering just how often she spoke. "Just… keep your head down."

She nodded easily, still silently laughing at him. Despite her mirth, her eyes seemed somewhat dull to him.

The inn was clean, neat, and empty of extraneous visitors, which Gaddes found to be relieving. The less people around to see Celena, the better. A pleasantly plump woman bustled about, sweeping the floor (which looked immaculately clean). She glanced up to see who had entered.

"Oh, hello, sir!" she said cheerfully. "How may I help you?"

"I'd like a room for myself and my – ah – sister. We've been traveling all day, and she's not feeling all that well." He glanced to Celena, finding her with her head down and arms wrapped around herself. She certainly looked tired.

"No problem at all, sir. Business has been slow today – it's not really a travel day, you know – so we most certainly have a room for you and the little dear. Let me talk to my husband."

Gaddes nodded. "Thanks, ma'am."

In no time the proprietor of the establishment, a stocky man named Reimann, appeared to negotiate a price with Gaddes. He was very fair, and in no time an agreement was reached.

"I'll just take my sister to her room now, so she can rest," Gaddes said, leading Celena to the room pointed out to them.

The room had, as requested, two separate beds and a window. Night had fully cast it's concealing blanket on Gaea, and little stars twinkled brightly in the vast expanse. Celena sat on one of the beds with a quiet sigh. Obviously she hadn't been faking the tiredness, and he wondered how he had missed it before.

"You want me to get you some food or something?" he asked her gently.

She nodded a little.

"Any preference?"

A small shake of the head.

"Alright then…"

Exiting the room, he found the lady of the establishment – Marabelle. "Excuse me, ma'am, but would you happen to have soup or anything I could bring to my sister?"

"Certainly!" she chirped. "I have some beef stew over the fire right now."

"Thanks," he said gratefully. "Oh, and… this may seem like an odd request…"

Marabelle raised her eyebrows much the way Celena always did when she wanted him to continue with what he was saying.

"My sister's things were taken from her along the trip, and she doesn't have much to wear…so would you know of anywhere I could purchase some things for her?"

"Purchase? You don't need to do that! Why, my daughter left some of her things here last time she stayed, and I know she wouldn't mind at all if your sister were to make use of them. Must be about the same size, too, I'd wager. Poor little thing, that one with you. She looked nearly dead on her feet."

Gaddes shifted from one foot to another. "Honestly, ma'am, I don't mind paying for the clothes." He felt guilty about accepting charity, especially when he didn't particularly need it.

"Nonsense!" She dragged him over to the kitchen. "She reminds me far too much of my own daughter to charge. Here, let me give you a bowl of soup for your sister, and I'll bring the clothes first thing in the morning."

He was taken aback by her generosity, but could find no other protest against the persuasive woman.

After a quick warm meal and a cheery 'Goodnight' from Marabelle, he brought the soup into their room, only to find Celena had already passed out on her bed, without even covering herself or removing his shirt. Smiling slightly to himself, he set the soup beside her on the table, and gently pulled the covers from beneath her body. She didn't appear to have woken from his attentions. Covering her snugly with the warm blankets, he planted a brief, chaste kiss on her forehead and said jokingly, "Dream of me."

Being tired himself, he quickly blew out the candle and lay in his own bed to drift asleep, but not before he heard a faint voice answer him…

"Better not."

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Yeah, so, hope you liked it some… And yes, again, I know Sora was in the movie and not necessarily the series… but technically, she _could've _been in the series in some form and we just never heard of her, right? There's nothing to say she wasn't… so therefore… since it suits my purpose… there it is.

The ideas continue to flow, but still no sure time of the next update… though no one's reviewing… so either everyone's on vacation, or no one wants to read this, or all the people who love VH pairings don't pull this up or something…

But oh well. I do this for my own pleasure, really. The reviews just give me encouragement. Feel free to drop me a line.

Anyway, til I next write again.

-wink


	5. You

And the next chapter is here… Feel free to drop a line…

Much thanks to all those who reviewed! You're all so positive, and it makes me feel so much better about this fic! :) Thanks to Danielle, Dagron, DragonSlayerMogget, FoxyFire, and snow blossoms! You all rock! And I hope you enjoy this next chapter…

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**Chapter 5: You**

Sunlight filtered through the window, falling across Gaddes' stubbly chin. Grimacing to himself, he rolled over, pressing his face into the pillow stubbornly. A slight weight on the side of his bed made him lift his head from the pillow and turn to see what the disturbance was.

An angel…

He blinked, frowning. No, it was just Celena…

"'Morning."  
The sweet voice was enough to keep his morning gruffness at bay, but the smile on her face – as if she found something immensely amusing – was what kept him from feeling cheerful about being awakened.

"Yeah?" He sat up, rubbing his face tiredly. When would he stop having these ridiculous 'angel' visions? It wasn't healthy for him at all, he was sure of it.

She raised her eyebrows slightly, her smile turning speculative.

"No, I did not have a good night's sleep," Gaddes said, belatedly trying to flatten his hair into a halfway normal look, assuming that was the reason she looked so amused. Now his dreams seemed hazy and distant… but he knew something about them had been extremely unsettling, and he knew Celena had been in them. Damn her. He shoved the covers away, feeling slightly reproachful about his attitude, because he knew it wasn't her fault.

A faint blush colored her pale cheeks for a moment before she looked hastily away from his bare chest.

His mood lightened considerably. "Sorry, honey, but you _are_ kinda wearing my shirt at the moment."

She practically threw it at him as she stood from his bed, walking a safe distance away from him.

"What, you think I bite?" He gave her a shark-like smile.

Turning to him, she rolled her eyes sarcastically and crossed her arms. Raising just one of her eyebrows this time, she threw another questioning look at him.

"Marabelle is giving you some clothes," Gaddes stated, shrugging into the pink shirt, glancing for another moment at her expression. "And I doubt you'll be getting any pants with the bargain. You should be happy you're getting something."

Lifting her shoulders in an 'I'll deal' pose, she bent over to slip on her shoes while Gaddes finished buttoning his shirt.

"Let me get the clothes for you," he volunteered gallantly.

The corner of her mouth tipping slightly, she nodded as if agreeing with his idea as he left the room.

Returning with an armful of clothes and a bag to put them in, he dumped them unceremoniously on her bed and said, "Take your pick, milady. I'll be eating breakfast to give you some privacy." He smiled rakishly at her. "Pick something nice."

She shook her head long-sufferingly, and her eyes smiled up at him from under her lashes. Finding himself a little too affected by her innocent looks, he left the room before he did something that he knew he would regret.

Marabelle sat a cup of coffee before him with a cheerful smile. "Does your sister like the clothes?"

Gaddes shrugged. "I guess. I let her have some time to pick something out by herself."

"Oh, well, that's sweet of you," she commented, moving toward the kitchen. "I'll have both of your breakfasts out in just a little bit."

"Thanks."

He sipped the hot coffee gingerly, thinking through the tenuous plans in his mind. With Celena in different clothes, they could possibly go along the main road… walking, until maybe they found some other mode of transportation. One that preferably wasn't public.

This damn planning was not something he wanted to do at all. He wasn't suited for any of this. Why in Gaea was _he _the one escorting Celena?

Gaddes grimaced. The coffee was _strong_. _What are they trying to do with this stuff, wake the dead?_

A movement in his peripheral vision caught his attention, and he turned to see what it was. Celena. He blinked.

_How did I know that this would happen… again?_

She was wearing a dress similar to the blue one, only this one had a neckline that dipped lower… it _had _to dip lower… or else Gaddes was simply noticing things he hadn't noticed before. But he thought he'd been pretty observant the first time. It was green, too, which made her eyes look an entirely different shade… and that made her all the more mysterious and… interesting… _She probably picked it on purpose, too, the wily female…_

"Looks nice," he said easily, the corner of his mouth tipping slightly. Hopefully she wouldn't be able to read any of his extraneous thoughts through his eyes.

Her cheeks flushed ever so faintly as she came over to sit with him. "Thanks," she said quietly. She sat at the table, and refused Gaddes' offer of coffee, avoiding his eyes.

_Good. She won't see my insanity._

Marabelle brought their breakfast before anything else awkward could happen, and Gaddes dug in with gusto. "So, you slept well?"

She shrugged noncommittally.

"You looked like you were sleeping pretty soundly when I came in."

She gave him an odd expression.

"Well, not like I was watching you all night," he muttered. "I couldn't help but notice you in the other bed when I walked in."

Poking at her food with her fork, she lowered her gaze again.

He looked skeptically at her, noticing the lack of natural color in her cheeks. "Are you alright?"

Celena nodded slightly, bringing a small forkful to her mouth.

A dark eyebrow rose. "You sure?"

"Yes," she said in an insistent tone.

"Alright, fine, forgive me for wondering." Turning his attention back to his meal, he said, "You've got the other clothes packed, right?"

"Yes."

"Good." He polished off the plate, and took another sip of the coffee as he sat back. His dark eyes watched Celena, merely because there was nothing else to watch.

Glancing up after apparently sensing his gaze, she frowned slightly.

"Sorry, didn't mean to stare," he said apologetically. "But I can't say it was a trial," he added with a cocky grin.

She rolled her eyes at him, and ate one more bite before pushing the plate away.

"You're done?"

A nod.

Gaddes looked at her half-full plate. "Are you sure? You didn't eat much."

"I'm not hungry."

Seeing that she was not one to argue with right now, he just accepted her reply. "Alright then. You're a big girl, I ain't about to feed you."

Her lips curving slightly, she hunched her shoulders and leaned forward, looking out the window.

He gulped at what his very male eyes were drawn to. She was, indeed, a 'big girl' now… And it was worse, because he knew she wasn't even aware of what she was doing. "Um… could you… sit up?"

Her greenish-blue eyes were very clear. _Why?_

"Just…" His eyes darted away from her. "For me… could you just sit up?"

Still obviously confused, but not wanting to cause a disturbance, she obligingly straightened her shoulders and rested against the back of her chair.

Letting out a breath, he said, "Thanks," in a very relieved voice. As if he needed things to be made even more difficult for him.

She blinked. _Whatever._

Marabelle came back to the table, smiling cheerily. "You two want anything else? More coffee, anything?"

"No, thanks Marabelle. It was wonderful." Gaddes smiled, feeling the tightness in his gut begin to dissipate with the older woman's presence.

"Yes, thank you," Celena said sweetly.

Marabelle took their plates, and said, "Well, if you two ever need to stay somewhere again and you're nearby, be sure to come back!"

"Will do," he replied.

He looked to his charge. "Well? You ready?"

Nodding faintly, she stood from the chair and pulled the bag onto her shoulder.

* * *

- 

Reimann and Marabelle waved farewell to their guests as they disappeared past the bend in the road.

"Well, they were very nice," Marabelle commented. "Though it's strange that they were traveling now… But I suppose they have a good reason. It's not required that one travel on common travel days, now is it? And besides, it's not like this road is the most populated road, so who knows? More people may be about than we know."

"There was something about them," Reimann said gruffly, obviously a man of few words.

"What do you mean?"

"Something was off."

She put her hands on her hips. "Well, I have no idea what you are talking about. They were both sweet, and very kind…"

"But they didn't seem like brother and sister to me."

Her matronly pretty face frowned slightly. "Why not?"

"Did you see the way he looked at her?" Reimann looked back to the road thoughtfully. "I'd never look at a sister of mine that way…"

* * *

- 

Gaddes looked dubiously up at the darkening sky. So far, since they'd left the inn, they'd not come upon another building along the road.

_Which is both good and bad.__ Good, because less chance of a crazy person to decide to take vengeance on Celena. Bad, by the looks of those clouds…_

He glanced down at her. She didn't seem as bright or cheerful as she usually was. Of course, she refrained from speaking. But what else was new?

"Are you feeling alright?"

She nodded, just the same way she had nodded the other five times he'd asked her the same question.

He breathed in deep, smelling Celena's scent on his shirt collar from the night before. It was like a clear, sparkling mountain river; pure and clean… or something fanciful and ridiculous like that.

"The weather doesn't look that good."

She glanced up at him, a 'no, duh' expression on her face.

Maybe it was smelling her everywhere he went in the shirt, maybe it was just the conversational solitude that was wearing down on him, but suddenly he couldn't hold back. "Listen, Celena, I'm just trying to make conversation, alright? I don't know how you can take the silence for so long, but I can't, so will you please stop playing like you're mute and talk back? For my sake?"

Her forehead creased in a slight frown. "I didn't know it bothered you that much."

"Neither did I, honey, but I'm feeling it now."

The frown mellowed into something more resembling contemplation. "I just don't really like talking all that much, I told you that already."

"But why? What's so wrong with talking?"

She paused. "I have a lot of things to think about."

"Then think out loud, damn it! I'd be happy if you said _anything _at all, even if it were totally incoherent."

For some reason, she smiled.

He was the one sporting the frown now. "What's so funny?"

His almost-glare did nothing to quell her infectious grin. "You."

Even though he rolled his eyes and huffed out a gruff breath – _Maybe her staying silent is better after all… – _he couldn't help but notice that her smile did nothing for her coloring. She looked incredibly pale, even for her.

An ominous rumble in the distance made his mood lower even more. _Maybe, if we walk fast enough, we can reach some sort of shelter before it gets really bad. No way we can avoid it. The only question now is when the rain will-_

He winced at the feeling of something ice cold running down his neck.

_Hit._

Lightening split the sky in two, eerily making no sound. Celena looked questioningly up at Gaddes.

"Heat lightening," he explained. "Haven't you seen it before?"

Before she could answer, another lightening bolt struck and sent a loud 'boom' rolling over the hills.

"Shoot…" He squinted, trying to see ahead through the intensifying sheets of rain. Nothing.

He leaned down close to Celena's ear so she could hear him. "There's nowhere to take shelter from this rain, and I'm sure as hell not about to go under a tree. I may not be the brightest person, but I know that ain't safe in a thunderstorm. We just have to keep walking in the rain, and if we don't take the other clothes out of the packs, they should stay pretty much dry for later."

He heard a faint "okay" and kept walking, holding her close to him so that she wouldn't slip and fall. The last thing he needed was for her to become incapacitated.

Gaddes felt rivulets of water cascading off of his nose, and the sensation was pretty unpleasant. Water was sliding down the back of his shirt, too, which was even worse. But complaining would do no good… no chance anyone, even Celena, would hear him all that clearly in the din of the thunder and rain. Then again, that was a good reason to complain now. Of course, why waste his breath?

He was distracted by Celena's slender form pressing against his body. For a moment, he forgot he was cold… they could've been in blinding snow, and he wouldn't have noticed a thing apart from her. She was shivering… but then, so was he. His warmer thoughts were instantly dashed by the remembrance that this was Allen's little sister. He frowned to himself. This really needed to stop.

After what felt like days trapped in an ice cube – which was really just two hours in rather cold rain – the sky cleared somewhat and the rain fell in a faint drizzle, the lightening and thunder having gone away with the darkness.

"I just have to say," Gaddes spoke for the first time in a while, "That I am absolutely _amazed _we have found nothing on this blasted road for the past two hours."

Celena nodded marginally.

"I mean, good Lord, how long is this damn road 'til you hit some sort of civilization?"

She didn't respond. Not that he expected her to.

He shook his head, trying to loosen the water that plastered his hair to his head. Ruffling it with his hand, he realized he was still holding Celena close, and eased away slightly.

"I don't think you really need my protection from the rain anymore, sweetheart," he said easily, knowing that he was relinquishing the contact more for his own good than for hers.

She looked up at him, her bluish-green eyes looking so much bigger with the way her fair hair had been flattened by the moisture. "Gaddes…" she began timidly, biting her lip.

He didn't let her finish. "My God, Celena… you're as white as a ghost!"  
The stubborn girl turned away abruptly. "No… I'm fine…"

"Like hell you are. I'm not an idiot, Celena. You've probably got pneumonia now."

She wrinkled her nose. "No, I don't."

"Well, you will soon." He mentally berated himself soundly for somehow skimming over the signs. He _was _an idiot, for not seeing that she wasn't feeling well earlier. "Get over here, under the willow tree. It's not as wet."

"But I thought you said-"

"Does it look like there's a thundercloud in the sky? Get over here." She complied silently, and he opened her bag brusquely. "Change into something dry."

Without waiting for an answer, he strode away into the open, giving her some privacy within the curtains of the leaves. Pulling of his soaked shirt, he tried his best to wring most of the water from it. "You done?"

"Yes."

Neglecting to put his shirt back on, he strode back under the tree to find Celena in a black dress. He rolled his eyes. "Nice choice of color."

"Well, I thought it would be warmer," she said defiantly, her voice still weak.

He couldn't stop a small lopsided grin from his face with that. "I'm sure anything will be warmer than that wet blanket you had on."

She looked away from him, sitting Indian-style on the ground with her arms around herself.

"Alright, I'm not a doctor, but I figure if you just get some fluids, food, and rest, you'll probably be fine. I doubt you're seriously sick. But you aren't walking any farther today."

Silently acquiescing to his proclamation, she murmured, "I hate being weak…"

He felt himself softening to her. "We all are at some time," he said, wadding up one her dry dresses for a pillow and gently pushing her into a prone position on the ground. He covered her with the blanket that had somehow stayed mostly dry. Gently, he brushed her damp hair away from her burning forehead. "But you know, Celena," he said quietly as her eyes closed in exhaustion, "you're one of the strongest women I've ever known."

He suspected she'd fallen asleep before she'd heard everything he said, which was probably for the better, even though he spoke the truth. After all, she had lived a life as Dilandau, a bloodthirsty pyromaniac who had destroyed thousands of people's lives… Having to exist with that knowledge on your conscience had to be hard. But aside from her silence, she acted as if a normal life had to go on, and he knew that deep down inside he commended her for that.

Plus, she had some pretty slick moves for a female when it came to fighting, if you judged by the quick punch she had landed to his stomach that one time.

So why did he keep pushing himself away from her?

His eyes traced the slender lines of her face, having all the time in the world to do so. He was attracted; a man would have to be a complete moron not to have figured that one out. So what was keeping him from… well, from anything?

His brow lowered in thought, as the leaves rustled gently above him.

Then, his face cleared.

There was no way this could ever be a fling.

He was sure that was it. Though she wasn't 'innocent' in the naïve sense, she was definitely too young to be used to casual nights here and there. And besides, Allen's sister would never be a fling for Allen's second-in-command and best friend. Despite his earlier reassurance that he wanted something long-term, he found himself backing hastily away from any thoughts that hinted toward something serious. With her? Celena? The former-Dilandau? Allen's precious sister?

_Someone up there must be laughing pretty damn hard at the stunt they're pulling down here._

He and Celena wouldn't fit, no matter how beautiful she was to him. Too many things stood in the way, not the least of which was Allen himself. He wanted Celena to become a 'lady'. What kind of lady would marry a scruffy captain like himself?

_Marry?!_

Blinking, he looked away from her, trying to gather his thoughts. Maybe he was catching something, too. It could be just temporary insanity, right?

She groaned, and Gaddes returned to reality with a start. "You okay?"

"Yes, Gaddes," she mumbled irritably, his name still sounding like music in her voice.

He tucked the shirt more firmly around her shoulders, and she sleepily scowled. "As if I wasn't already feeling enough like a child…"

She drifted off to sleep again, just as soundly as before. Maybe, just maybe, she wouldn't notice his foolishness over her… and maybe, once he returned her safely to her brother, this bizarreness within him would fade away. But again his eyes were captured by her face and his ears by her sweet voice that still resounded in his mind. He couldn't seem to resist it. On impulse, he bent down and dropped a lingering butterfly kiss on her endearingly pursed lips, cynically half-smiling to himself.

"It would seem, little one, that I am captivated by anything from your mouth."

-

-

-

So there it is. Next chapter… no idea… since school is starting up… and who knows how much time/inspiration I'll have left to write? But I will try, trust me…

'Til the next chapter…

-wink


	6. Told You

Woo! I was struck on the head last night with inspiration, and I got the whole chapter out, plus planned the rest of the story! It always helps when you know exactly what's going to happen in the end, so you know what to work towards…

To My Reviewers:

shmo (handing me time/inspiration, eh? Good going. : ) ), Dagron, DragonSlayerMogget, FoxyFire, Ron and his Sakura (I'd just like to say, I swear to you that in the series, it looks like he's wearing a pink shirt… I wouldn't have picked it out first off either, but look at it! I swear to you it's a light shade of pink! Oh, and eventually we'll see into Celena's head… just wait…), and dreamingofflyingaway

You all rock so hard. Thanks so much!

And on with the next chapter…

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**Chapter 6: Told You**

…

Gaddes awoke with a start. He'd apparently fallen asleep while watching Celena. Some guardian he was. Propping himself up on his elbow, he looked over at the female lying a foot and a half from him. She appeared to be sleeping peacefully, and didn't look quite so ghastly pale, though wearing a black dress did nothing to help her look healthier.

He rubbed his eyes tiredly. Hopefully he wouldn't catch a chill, either. It was bad enough with one of them sick.

She flailed out a hand in his general direction, startling him. After a moment of hesitation, he took her hand gently, caressing the back of it with his thumb. Her head moved from side to side in agitation. "No… don't!" she whimpered.

A frown appeared on his face. She was having nightmares, obviously. But of what?

Her hand tightened on his. "Jajuka!"

_Who?_

"I'm alone…" She whimpered. A single tear slid down her porcelain cheek. "Dallet… Gatti… Chesta… Viole… Miguel… Guimel…"

_Who in the hell are these people?_

She blinked her eyes open, breathing heavily. After catching sight of Gaddes beside her, she visibly calmed. "Oh," she exhaled in a raspy voice.

His eyes widened in momentary surprise when he peered into her face. "Celena… do you have a scar on your cheek?"

"What?"

"Your cheek…" He blinked, and whatever illusion he had seen wasn't there anymore. "Uh… Never mind. You were having nightmares?"

She nodded, sitting up slowly.

"What of?"

Her eyes closed. "I'm… not sure. It's all kind of hazy."

A dark eyebrow lifted. "They seemed pretty vivid to me."

Celena looked at him. "I just remember impressions. You know how that works with dreams."

"Why don't you try and remember? Maybe talking them out will calm you down."

"I am calm."

"You're still trembling."

She realized he was holding her hand, and weakly tried to pull it back, but he wouldn't relinquish his grip. "Let go."

"Not until you try and figure out what your nightmare is. Maybe once you figure it out, it'll go away." In all honesty, he didn't know that it _would _go away. He just wanted to know what had spooked her so badly.

Her head turned away from him. "How would you know it's a reoccurring nightmare?"

"Because…" Gaddes scratched his head with his other hand. "Well, I guess I don't know. I just assumed."

She couldn't stop her smile at that.

"Well, I've gotta say, sweetheart, I've never heard you talk so much. I need to catch you right when you wake up more often."

A faint blush stained her face.

He grinned. "Now about these dreams…"

Rolling her eyes, she wrapped her other arm around herself. "You don't let up, do you?"

"Not if I can help it."

"Stubborn ox."

"You, too."

She grimaced. "Nice."

He laughed aloud. "Will you just try and tell me something about the dreams? At the very least, you'll be distracted by trying to focus."

"You have twisted logic." The little blonde shrugged. "I just remember… these men. Boys, really. I was close with them, I guess… But all I remember is them dying… all of them… all at once… and me, left alone. And Jajuka… he died, too. He left me alone. But I don't remember who these people are! And for the life of me, I can't forget them either!"

"They're from you as Dilandau?"

"Yes!" She finally managed to yank her hand away from Gaddes. "Why did this have to happen to me? Why did I have to be the one who got screwed over by those… sorcerer-men?!"

Gaddes thought for a moment. "Sometimes, that's just how fate works, Celena," he said, knowing it was a weak explanation.

"You know nothing of fate…" she muttered bitterly.

He nodded slightly, looking off into the distance. "I suppose I don't."

She was obviously surprised that he didn't object to her statement. But it also seemed that her sudden outpouring of words had found its end.

After an odd moment of silence – which was odd, because silences between them were never odd – Gaddes said, "So! Since we're having such a _cheery _conversation, why don't we eat some of the bread and meat that Marabelle insisted we bring along? I'll bet it'll make you feel better, if not mentally and emotionally, then at least physically."

Celena refused to look up at Gaddes, even when he gave her the flask of water to drink.

After a little while longer, Gaddes heard a soft "I'm sorry."

He raised both eyebrows. "Sorry for what?"

"Everything." Her lashes flickered upwards to reveal her beautiful eyes.

His mouth didn't seem to be able to find any words because of the way she looked at him. "It's… fine," he finally said lamely.

She smiled slightly, questioning with her eyes again.

"I don't think we're going much further today. Just in case."

Her pretty mouth turned down in a confused frown.

"Well, you were sick, Celena. You can't be all better in two seconds."

One slim eyebrow rose.

"Okay, so two hours. Still. I don't want you getting sicker than you already were."

"I can walk a little further," she insisted verbally.

"I'm doing this for your own good, Celena. Now lay back again-"

She moved away from his touch. "I'm not a kid! Trust me."

"Celena-" he began, wanting her to know he thought of her as anything _but _a kid, but any explanations along that line would end up with him telling her way more than he wanted to. And that was something he was sure he would try to avoid at all costs.

"Look, Gaddes," she said with finality, "If we were walking for two hours without finding anything along the road, wouldn't it make sense that something would be close by, by now?"

He paused for a moment to consider that. "I suppose it makes sense…" he agreed reluctantly.

"Let's walk an hour, then I'll stop… just for you," she added sweetly.

"Fine," he reluctantly agreed. "I'm sick of arguing with you. Who'd have thought your silences were easier than when you spoke?"

A smug smile graced her face, and she started to fold the blanket methodically.

"But only one hour," he reminded her.-

…

* * *

…

An hour later they were sitting in a little tavern, Celena drinking wine, Gaddes helping himself to some mead.

"Told you," she said quietly, keeping her head down.

"Shut up," he grumbled back.

The smug smile hadn't appeared to leave her face yet. Gaddes rolled up the sleeves of his now-blue shirt in a sloppy but efficient manner, having neglected to put his chest armor and vest back on once he'd changed out of his rain-soggy clothes.

She reached over and fingered his cuffs lightly. "I like this better," she said.

"You do, eh?" He smiled broadly at her, hoping to embarrass her. "Why?"

Shaking her head, she looked away. "It's a nice color for you… and the sleeves aren't as poofy."

"You got a problem with my sleeves?"

She bit her lip, trying to hold back her smile.

"Well, if my sleeves were a problem, I can't imagine what you think of your brother's."

Celena's voice lifted in a musical laugh that made Gaddes feel strangely warm and happy inside. _Ridiculous…_

He looked away from her face to find a scruffy wolf-man staring in their direction. Gaddes felt the hair on the back of his neck lift. _Do I know him from somewhere?_ Somehow, he didn't feel comforted at all by the stranger's familiarity.

"You know, Celena," he began, "Maybe we shouldn't stay here for the night…"

"I thought you said-"

"Yeah, well, I'm not feeling too good about it anymore. Let's go. Get your things." He stood from the table, pulling her up with him and swinging his bag onto his shoulder with his other hand. Dropping money by their half-finished drinks, he gripped her elbow and walked swiftly out the door. A discreet glance behind them proved that the wolf-man had followed them out. He kept walking for a few more seconds before abruptly turning around to deliver a punch to the wolf-man. Unfortunately, the stranger was taller than Gaddes assumed, and his punch hit him in the shoulder instead of in the face like he'd intended to. The wolf-man, however, was in no confusion as to the relative size of his opponent, and reflexively sent a hard punch to Gaddes' eye, sending him stumbling backwards. Before he could regain his footing, Celena jumped in, punching the wolf-man in the gut – hard. The breath woofed out of the big animal-human, and Celena wasted no time in taking advantage of his bent stance. Gaddes couldn't help but watch in amazement at the way she moved, deftly and efficiently. Like a soldier.

"Wait!" a deep voice growled as the wolf-man back away. "Wait, I'm not what you think."

Celena just stared at him icily, holding back her attack.

The wolf-man looked up sheepishly at Gaddes. "I didn't mean to punch you, it was a reflex. I apologize."

Gaddes frowned in confusion. "Okay…"

He straightened. "You don't remember me, but I remember you. Your ship escorted the lady Hitomi and Lord Van, didn't it?"

"Yes…"

"I knew it. I am Ruhm, one of Lord Van's close companions. I keep the border of Fanelia safe."

The memory clicked. Gaddes vaguely recalled the large wolf-man while they had briefly been near Fanelia on one of their several sojourns over in that area. "Ah. Yes, I do remember you."

Celena glanced back at Gaddes, wilting slightly. She apparently wasn't entirely healthy yet, and the impressive fighting – unnecessary though it was – had taken a lot out of her.

"This is Celena, Allen Schezar's sister," Gaddes explained belatedly.

"My apologies, milady, if I harmed you in any way."

"No harm done," she finally said, shrinking back towards Gaddes as if she needed protection.

He scoffed at himself. _Like she needs protection…_

Ruhm regarded the two questioningly. "What are you doing here, anyway, if I may ask?"

She was now standing pretty close to Gaddes, practically inviting him to put his arm around her in comfort, though he didn't know why she'd need it so bad. Resisting the urge, he concentrated on Ruhm's question. "Well, I was picking up Celena from the Palas in Asturia, planning to meet Allen and the rest of the crew in Fanelia, but we were… accosted by some people who don't feel too favorable towards Celena's past, even though she wasn't to blame for her actions. So we set off on foot, trying to keep away from most people so that we wouldn't have any more problems."

"Ah. And that would explain why you were so jumpy when you saw me."

"Yeah…"

Ruhm's eyes lit up. "You need safe transportation? I will gladly give you a ride to Fanelia. I need to see the king, anyway."

"Really?" Celena was leaning against him, making it nearly impossible not to put his arm around her. Sighing to himself, he pulled her close, letting her rest against him. "That would be great."

He grinned wolfishly. "We can leave tonight, if you'd like to get to Fanelia sooner."

"You sure that's fine with you?"

"As I said, I have business of my own there as well." He turned to go, but paused a moment. "Is she alright?"

Gaddes glanced down at the girl under his arm, looking decidedly under the weather as well. "She was just a little sick earlier. A chill from the thunderstorm."

"Ah." He nodded understandingly. "Well, I will be right back with the horse and cart."

He left the two standing there, almost leaning on each other. Gaddes smiled softly at Celena and chucked her chin lightly. "That's what you get for swimming in freezing water, little one," he chuckled.

She grumbled slightly, though not coherently.

In almost no time Ruhm appeared with the cart and horse, and Gaddes lifted a tired Celena onto the hay. He climbed up beside her, and they set off.

She wasn't looking well again. Gaddes shook his head, and pulled out the blanket again. "You really need to learn when to rest," he said teasingly.

"I wasn't thinking," she said quietly.

He smiled. "I know." Gently, he brushed the hair back from her forehead again. "You know, you've got some pretty good moves there."

She looked up at him, wearing the innocent-little-girl face. "I don't remember knowing how to do that." Her forehead creased in concern as she spotted something. "Gaddes, your eye…" Her fingertips gingerly touched the swelling around his eye, and he winced.

"Oh yeah, forgot about that…"

Her lips curved slightly, and she rested her hand on his cheek for a moment. "I think you need a shave…"

His stomach was doing strange things inside of him. Not normal feelings either. It was the tangled-up-in-knots, trying-to-win-a-gymnastics-competition sort of feeling. With an effort, he forced his normal lopsided grin. "Nah."

She sighed. "I know the sun is just now setting, but I'm kinda tired…"

"There's nothing to stop you from sleeping, sweetheart."

Her hand dropped back down, and Gaddes keenly felt its absence. "I guess you're right…"

Once again, he found himself watching her as she fell asleep. _What does this make me, some kind of weird stalker? _But he couldn't resist. Her hair had dried in soft curls around her face after the thunderstorm, and it was begging for his touch. This time, though, he kept his hands to himself. Unfortunately, his eyes were not so easily controlled. Her lips puckered slightly as her chest rose and fell in quiet breaths. Looking at her, he couldn't help but reflect in the sleepy silence on what had happened during the day. She'd opened up to him with more than just her actions this time, and for some reason, he felt as if the world was suddenly spinning the wrong way on its axis. In a rather short time things were changing, just as discreetly and yet as intensely as the thunderstorm that had snuck upon them earlier that day. Though he couldn't quite hear or understand whatever was going on inside him, it was clear that there were definitely undercurrents moving beneath the surface… like a silent storm…

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And there we are. Soon (hopefully) I'll finish, since I have it all planned out mostly… Oh, and if I messed up the Dragon Slayers' names, I apologize profusely, and would ask that you feel free to correct me in a kind and positive manner, please. Though none of you are mean at all… but just in case…

Til the next chapter!

-wink


	7. Teach Me

Here it is!! Yeah, I wrote this a week ago, but finally proofread it now… College is going well and all, so we'll see how the next chapter comes out…

Thanks so much to all your encouraging reviews!! I'd list them all, but I'm short of time since sleep is indeed necessary…

But you're all in my heart!! :)

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**Chapter 7: Teach Me**

…

Gaddes blinked open his eyes. He'd fallen into a fitful doze sometime during the wee hours of the morning as Ruhm pressed tirelessly on towards Fanelia, but he felt as if he hadn't rested a bit. He was surprised to find himself laying beside Celena, his arm curled behind her head protectively. When had he done that? She was facing him, smiling slightly in her sleep. He frowned, trying to move his arm from behind her head without awakening her. Unfortunately, it didn't work.

Her sleepy eyes flickered open, and she made a small sound. "Gaddes?"

He inched away from her, finally releasing his arm and smiling awkwardly. "'Morning."

She took a deep breath, and brushed her hair back. "What… where…"

"We're on Ruhm's cart, remember? He was taking us to Fanelia," Gaddes reminded her quietly.

Why they were talking in hushed voices, Gaddes couldn't tell.

Understanding dawned on her sleepy face, a slight reddish mark on her cheek from his sleeve. The sight made him chuckle inwardly, because it was so damn adorable.

"Gaddes?"

Ruhm's voice brought him out of his little world with Celena, and he sat straight up to look at the wolf-man. "Yeah?"

His fangs gleamed in his smile as he gestured expansively towards Fanelia. "We're here."

The early morning sun cast long dark shadows, lighting everything it touched with a warm golden-orange glow that almost hurt the eyes. Only a few clouds graced the blue of the sky, gleaming brightly with the sun's rays. Fanelia itself was shining with the light of the rising sun, as the extent of the renovations was revealed. It looked magnificent, especially for having been burned down less than a year ago.

Celena's rumpled head appeared beside him. "Wow…"

Ruhm chuckled. "Good morning, little lady. How did you rest?"

"Fine," she said, yawning. "I feel better."  
"That's most excellent," he said, turning to focus his attention on the road again. "We should make it to the palace within the hour."

"So soon?" Gaddes asked.

Ruhm winked. "I took some short cuts."

"Ah." He turned to Celena, looking at her critically. "I do suppose you look better," he commented. "That's good. I don't know what kind of punishment I would receive from Allen if I returned with his little sister sick."

She frowned, but he grinned.

"And it wasn't even my fault, either."

She crossed her arms, looking away from him back over the countryside with an odd look on her face that Gaddes didn't miss. "What's wrong?"

Her shoulders lifted in a faint shrug.

"You miss your brother?"

The shrug this time was more of a noncommittal one.

"Did you dream again?"

She shook her head.

"Then what's wrong?"

"I remember something here…" she stated quietly.

"Remember what?"

Abruptly, she turned to face him. "Was Dilandau ever here?"

He blinked in surprise. "Uh… yeah, I think so. Why?"

"What did he do?"

Gaddes thought for a moment, then winced. "Uh, he… burned everything down."

She nodded understandingly. "That explains it…" Her eyes turned pensive.

"I'm sure everything will be fine," Gaddes reassured her weakly.

An eyebrow rose.

"Or at least I'm sure that Van won't cut you don't the moment he sees you."

The wind caressed her sleep-tousled hair. "How reassuring…"

…

* * *

…

The castle gates opened to reveal a tall, blonde-haired man and a shorter – but not short – dark-haired man. Celena smiled brightly at the man on the left. "Brother!"

Allen walked towards the cart, helping his sister down and embracing her. "Celena! You look wonderful!"

Her cheeks tinted slightly in a becoming blush, and Gaddes found himself distracted for a moment.

The knight's voice brought him back to reality. "Huh?"

"The trip was uneventful?"

He looked toward his boss with a dubious smile on his face. "Pretty much…"

Celena rolled her eyes exaggeratedly at him, but was obviously disinclined to tell her brother specifics of their trip. Allen didn't seem to notice his sister's subtle message. He raised an eyebrow skeptically, looking pointedly towards Gaddes' black eye.

Van approached them, giving Gaddes a friendly slap on the back and an opportunity to avoid Allen's question. "How're you doing?"

"Fine." He grinned at the young king. "Looks like you guys've been working real hard here."

The king smiled faintly. "We're doing our best."

"It's looking real nice."

"Van, my sister, Celena," Allen interrupted gracefully.

Van inclined his head in a slight bow, an odd expression on his face. "Nice to meet you, Lady Celena."

She smiled and curtsied back – _Probably learned that from Millerna_ – but with the same kind of awkward look in her eyes. _What a pair_, Gaddes thought wryly with a smile. _The king rebuilding his kingdom and the person who burned down his kingdom… involuntary though it was.___

They proceeded to walk into the castle, Van conversing with Ruhm in low tones.

"So, why did Van need you here, Allen?"

"There were some rogue Zaibach forces wandering the forests around here, frightening villagers and destroying their newly-built homes. Van's army needed some reinforcements, and in quick time, we dispensed of the enemies."

Gaddes frowned slightly. "Just like that?"

Allen shrugged. "So it would seem. What took you so long to get here?"

"Uh…" he thought for a moment. "Well, we ran into some difficulties with getting on a ship, so we set out on foot, but with the storm that hit and all, it was harder than normal."

"There weren't any more spaces on a ship?"

"Something like that." Gaddes figured Allen really didn't need to know about how he had to sleep next to his sister for nearly three nights, and all those other juicy details that older brothers aren't always too pleased to hear.

Celena's eyes smiled shyly at him from under her lashes, and he found himself still affected by them, even in her brother's presence.

"Well, Allen, I think I want to go off in search of food, if you don't mind." He had to start distancing himself from the girl before he got too used to her companionship, silent though it was.

…

* * *

…

In the evening, Gaddes passed a study room only to find Allen sitting inside with a look of deep thought on his face. Feeling no trepidation about interrupting his boss's musings, the dark-haired man entered. "Yo, boss!"

Allen looked up with a start, so engrossed within himself that he hadn't noticed anything. "Oh… Gaddes."

Gaddes grinned cockily, dropping himself into a chair facing the knight. "What's up?"

His blue eyes looked to his, frustration behind them. "Why won't Celena talk to me?"

"She doesn't talk to you?" Gaddes asked, surprised.

"No. Barely a word. She just sits there, serenely, but without a sound. I don't know what's wrong with her."

"Nothing's wrong with her," he said in her defense.

Allen sighed. "Being Dilandau must have done something with her communication skills…"

Gaddes' eyebrows rose. "What?"

"I can't understand her," Allen said. "I've never been able to, ever since I got her back."

"Why not?"

Allen looked at him sardonically. "Did you not notice that she doesn't speak?"

"Yeah, but she doesn't need to talk to communicate." How could Allen not understand her? It was so easy to read her heart through her eyes.

"Did she talk to you?"

Gaddes caught a strange glint of jealously within the brother's eyes. "Not… really. Only sometimes."

He leaned back in the chair tiredly. "I would be grateful for even that."

"Try asking her yes and no questions," Gaddes said with a slight grin. "Then, when she's not expecting it, ask her a question that requires a one-word answer."

Allen rolled his eyes. "Like that's going to work."

After a moment's silence, Gaddes switched topics. "So, when are we leaving?"

"I don't know," Allen said ambiguously.

"What's keeping us here? You said that the invaders were taken care of, right?"

The knight raised a golden eyebrow. "You want to be traveling so soon?"

"So long as it's on the Crusade, I couldn't care less where we go."

Allen smiled with little amusement. "I failed to mention it, but a levistone on the Crusade was damaged at some point. That's another reason we're not leaving yet."

"Oh." was all Gaddes said. Once again the conversation ground to a halt, and he looked idly around the room at the numerous books that lined the shelves. Before he could stop himself, he asked, "Where is Celena, anyway?" Mentally he punched himself. Distancing himself, eh? He failed even at _that_.

"I suggested she eat dinner with Van."

Surprise washed over Gaddes, along with a stray hint of jealousy that he chose to ignore. What in the world? And he thought _his _ideas were bad… Van was obviously not entirely comfortable around Celena for obvious reasons, and even though Celena didn't really remember anything that her alter ego did, she wasn't all that cozy either here. Unless…

"Is that why you had Celena educated to be a 'lady of breeding'?" he asked accusingly.

Allen's cerulean eyes watching him questioningly, and Gaddes was pierced by the momentary resemblance to Celena.

"You were planning to set her up with Van? Why would you do _that?_" Allen should've known the impossibility of the situation. A blast from the past hit Gaddes between the eyes, and the possible rivalry that might force his boss to do something crazy. "Wait… is this because of Hitomi?"

The blonde's face darkened.

"You're hoping to get Van out of the way so that in case Hitomi comes back, you're the one who can get her?"

"No," Allen said sharply, then paused. He looked down, obviously ashamed. "I won't deny that the idea did surface." Abruptly he brought his flaming eyes up. "But I swear to you that it surfaced for but a moment, and I quickly dismissed it. I'm not so callous as to sacrifice the life of my sister for something to fulfill my selfish desires."

Gaddes reprimanded himself slightly for thinking so badly of his boss. "So… then why do you want her to eat with him?"

"I'm thinking of her future, that's all. I'm trying to give her the best future I can."

"Why don't you let her decide her own future, Allen?"

"I am," he stated. "I'm just showing her what a good future would be, making it easier for her to grasp it."

Gaddes remembered then just why he had disagreed with Allen so strongly before, and found that the trip had done nothing to quell his aggravation. He stood, nodding to his boss. "You do what you see fit with your sister, boss," he said, keeping his voice even. "I think I need a walk."

…

* * *

…

He entered the gardens, the sun setting in gentle yet vibrant colors that highlighted the flowers around him. Breathing deeply, he rounded a corner only to find himself confronted with the very person he'd been hoping to forget.

Celena smiled at him happily in greeting.

"Hi…" he said hesitantly. Should he come up with a reason to leave, or give in and stay?

She gestured to the seat beside her on the bench, and Gaddes found himself moving forward before he could stop himself.

_I guess I'll be staying then. I'm such a sucker._

"I thought you were supposed to be eating dinner with King Van."

She shrugged, looking away from him in faint embarrassment.

"Too awkward, huh?"

A nod.

"Yeah, I thought so. But he really is a good guy. Even though you two have… um… quite a history, friendship isn't out of the question."

"You want me to be friends with him?"

"Well, I don't want you to be enemies with him." Gaddes crossed his arms. "He's a friend of mine, only figured he could be a friend of yours, too."

She smiled.

Together they watched the sky change colors slowly but surely. If Gaddes was philosophical, he would say that it was a pretty accurate symbol of what had been changing within him over the past few days…

But then, Gaddes was no philosopher.

"I didn't hurt Ruhm, did I?" she asked out of the blue.

He blinked for a moment. "What?"

"I never got a chance to apologize to him."

"Well, he didn't seem to be the worse for wear this morning and when I saw him this afternoon."

"You, on the other hand…" She lifted a hand to gently touch his eye. "It's not looking quite so bad as it was last night."

"That's comforting," he murmured dryly. "I'm sure it really enhances my looks, too."

She laughed lightly. "The purple does highlight your brown eyes." Her hand dropped demurely to her lap.

He continued to look at her face, finding himself trapped there. But at times like this, he had no hope of fighting it. "You know, Celena," he began, "I saw something strange yesterday. When you woke up from your nightmares, and when you were fighting Ruhm."

Her eyebrows rose in question.

"I swear I could've seen a scar on your face… from here-" His hand reached out to touch beside her eye- "-to here." -and traced his fingertips down her smooth cheek to the tip of her chin.

Was the air crackling with energy? She seemed to be paralyzed in the moment, too.

"Really?" she finally managed.

He had forgotten to remove his hand. Swallowing, he quickly brought himself to reality. "Yeah." He shoved his hair back with his hand. "Talk about weird, huh?"

"Maybe not that weird," she said quietly.

For the life of him, his mind could think of nothing else intelligent to say at the moment. He looked upward, and saw a twinkling beam of light. "Hey, the first star," he said, obviously desperate to change topics. Why had he brought that up, anyway?

Her eyes followed his, and a wide smile lighted up her face.

"Make a wish."

She closed her eyes and seemed to be in deep thought. After a little while, she opened them back up and looked at Gaddes.

"What'd you wish for?" he asked with a grin.

She smiled coyly. "If I told you, it wouldn't come true."

…

* * *

…

A week later, Gaddes strode through the halls purposefully, sighing to himself. He'd gone a week avoiding Celena, and it appeared he wasn't going to be able to go for any longer. Vividly, he remembered the conversation as if it had happened five minutes ago.

Well, it had.

But still, it was pretty vivid anyway.

_"I want you to chaperone Celena today. She wanted to explore beyond the palace walls today."_

_Gaddes frowned. "Does she need a chaperone just to do that?"_

_"I don't want anything to happen to her."_

_"Trust me," the dark-haired man said wryly, "She doesn't need much protection."_

_Allen's steel blue gaze didn't budge._

_"Besides, why me?" He crossed his arms. "You're the one who wants to get to know her better, aren't you?"_

_The knight looked away briefly. "She asked specifically for you," he stated blandly. _

So there it was.

He had to spend a day with Celena. And he'd been doing so well by himself…

Of course, he wasn't about to admit that every day he'd slowly been dying inside.

Walking out into the gardens, he found Celena in the same place that he'd found her a week ago. She smiled brightly at him, but his tightly coiled guts restrained him from doing the same.

"You ready to go?"

The lack of warmth in his response caught her by surprise for a moment, but she nodded. Rising gracefully, she took his hand and pulled him past the garden gates. They walked for several minutes until they ended up in a large field.

"This is where you want to go?"

Smiling happily, she nodded, releasing him and running out through the tall golden yellow grass that waved slowly in the gentle breeze. Her midnight blue dress streamed out behind her like a banner as she twirled in a circle, a girlish twinkle of enjoyment in her eyes.

Gaddes watched her passively, feeling something inside him shift. Give her to Allen, and then forget about her, huh? Not likely. The fact that he was helpless to stop himself did nothing to help his disposition.

"Why did you ask Allen for me to escort you?"

She glanced back behind her for a moment. "Because I missed you," she said simply.

He frowned at the way something within him twitched from her statement. "Wouldn't you rather be with your brother?"

Surprised, she turned her whole body to look at him with vaguely hurt eyes at his harsh tone.

Silently, he cursed himself. Why was he taking his personal frustrations on her? It wasn't fair to her feelings, and it wasn't fair to the part of him she held within the palm of her hand. "Sorry," he said curtly, pushing back his hair with his hand and blowing out a breath. "I just…. Sorry."

Winking forgivingly, she motioned for him to join her.

He lifted an eyebrow dubiously. "I don't know, last time you did that I ended up in freezing water."

She rolled her eyes.

"I know we're not in water. But something just as bad might happen."

_Like what?_ Her face said.

"Like…" He paused. "I don't know."

She motioned her head encouragingly. _Then come on._

Sighing to himself, he grudgingly approached her. As soon as he reached his side, she grabbed his hand and dropped to the ground, nearly yanking him head over heels.

"What in Gaea are you doing?"

She lay back in the grass, indicated that he do the same.

The fact that this appeared like a very compromising position wasn't the only reason Gaddes hesitated. "What…"

Her blue eyes reflected the sky as she looked upwards intently.

He followed her gaze, finding a white puffy cloud slowly crawling across the sky. "Cloud watching? _That's _why you wanted to go this far?"

The smile on her face gave nothing away.

He finally settled himself in a sitting position beside her, looking up. "Looks sort of like a ship, doesn't it?"

She silently agreed.

Minutes passed that way in companionable silence, occasionally Gaddes speaking up to offer his opinions on what a cloud looked like. After a while, he looked down at her questioningly. "You done yet?"

She sat up, brushing the grass out of her hair.

Seeing one she missed, he reached over to pull the blade of grass from her silken strands, fingers tingling at the contact.

Her face looked like she was dying to ask him something, but uncertainly held back.

"You got a question?"

She bit her lip adorably. "You don't think I'm a child, right, Gaddes?"

"Nope. Definitely not a child."

Her eyebrows rose. "Then… teach me to kiss?"

He nearly choked on his next breath of air that never quite reached his lungs. "Wh-what?" That had to be the very last question he'd _ever _thought she'd ask.

She pouted. "Please?"

Gaddes blinked, his mind somehow going in every direction but forward. "Why?"

"I want to know how it feels. And there's no one else to ask."

His screaming lungs reminded him that he needed to breathe. She did have a point, which deflated his pounding heart somewhat. Who else would she ask if she was set on learning how it felt? And he knew from personal experience how stubborn she could get when she wanted something.

"I don't know if I should," he said, feeling glad that he'd managed a full sentence.

She smiled up at him becomingly, her hand hesitantly moving up to rest on his unshaven cheek.

"So long as you know you won't be able to get this back," he said quietly, not being able to help himself.

Her nod was shy, but sure. Bringing his head close to hers, he paused for a moment above her mouth as his hand snaked itself around her back, resting possessively there. Taking a hollow breath, he moved the last few centimeters to touch his lips with her soft ones, feeling his heavy eyelids drop with the contact. _Not good, too far! _his mind screamed, but his heart was screaming so much louder. Following his instincts, he broke the kiss for a heartbeat, only to return without giving Celena a chance to breathe, feeling the warmth of her response to the very marrow of his bones. The moment she experimentally kissed him back, he felt as if his insides would implode. Shakily moving back away from her, he swallowed hard, her sleepily-contented face like a swift kick to the gut. Her eyelashes fluttered open, revealing her darkened eyes. Releasing her from his grasp, he pulled himself together and away from her, feeling her hand slip away from where it had become entangled in his hair.

"I think that's all the teaching you need," he said in a husky voice, trying to give her his usual lopsided smile, but knowing that he wasn't even near succeeding.

…

* * *

…

Allen saw them return; Celena flushed and smiling happily, Gaddes somewhat pale and withdrawn. He regarded them curiously. _I wonder what they were doing out in the fields for so long. And what's wrong with Gaddes? I don't think I've ever seen him this way…_

Within a few minutes, Celena entered her suite next to Allen's, and he knocked on the adjoining door.

"Yes?"

"May I come in?"

The door opened slightly, and her curious eyes peered around the corner.

"Did you have a good time with Gaddes?" Allen asked innocently.

With a shrug that meant either 'maybe' or 'I guess so,' she closed the door behind her brother.

He stood awkwardly in the middle of the room. "What did you do?" he said to dispel the silence.

She shrugged again, but this time he couldn't think of any possible meanings to that action. He watched her look out the window, and a soft smile stole across her face. He frowned, deciding to try a different conversational tack. "Will you be dining with King Van tonight?"

Adamantly, she shook her head.

"Why not?"

Finally, she looked up at him. "I don't want to," she stated quietly.

He lifted his eyebrows in surprise. "Why wouldn't you want to?" He dug through his mind in an effort to find her reasons, and abruptly one surfaced, albeit a highly improbable one. "Wait a minute… Is there something going on between you and Gaddes?"

"No." Her eyes flashed unexpectedly. "Would that be a problem?"

He looked at her, caught off his guard. Her denial was anything but, even a blind man could see that. Righteous indignation rose within him. "Did he do anything-"

"No." She looked away from him, walking to her dresser and picking up her comb. "He hasn't tried anything, don't worry."

Not only was her revelation startling, but the fact that she was finally speaking with him in length was enough to shut him up.

"Is that all you want to know?"

He stood still for a moment. "Uh… yes."

She kept her head down. "Then could I be alone?"

Allen bowed his head in concession, still reeling from his little sister's statements. "Yes."

…

* * *

…

It was midnight, and Gaddes still couldn't sleep. He kept seeing the look in Celena's eyes as he abruptly bid her goodbye after returning her to the castle. It was an odd look, one he couldn't quite figure out but made him feel almost wary. As if she knew that this wasn't the end. But that was all nonsense. Celena was just an innocent who had wanted to experience her first kiss with someone she trusted, the only candidate at the moment being Gaddes.

He shook his head. He shouldn't have given in, but something about her just sucked him in the harder he pulled back.

Somehow he ended up in the gardens again, only to find himself not so alone anymore.

"Van?"

The young king looked up from his bow in surprise. "Gaddes?" He frowned faintly. "What are you doing wandering around at this hour?"

"I could ask you the same thing," the taller man said dryly, approaching with due respect.

"I can't sleep," he explained shortly, looking to Gaddes as if asking him for his reason.

"Same."

Van smiled darkly to himself, as he turned back to aiming at a target in a tree. "Women always have that effect," he muttered as he let the arrow fly.

Gaddes blinked in surprise. "What?"

The archer gave the other a sidelong glance. "You know what I'm talking about."

"I do?"

Van set his bow on the ground and propped his elbow on it casually. "Celena."

The name sent strange feelings coursing down Gaddes' spine. "Yeah?"

"I'm not the smartest guy around in these matters, but I've stared in the mirror enough to know what it looks like."

Gaddes didn't respond, and Van shook his head. "Stop wasting your time denying it." He sighed. "I know I did."

The older man looked at the young king curiously. "Are you just missing Hitomi, or what?"

Stubbornly, Van pulled another arrow and set the bow again. "I dreamt of her tonight," he said. "Talked with her for a little while." Seeing Gaddes' expression, he paused. "I'm not crazy. It's like a telepathic thing or something. I don't understand it. You'd have to ask her to explain it." He returned his attention to his target and let the arrow fly. "But she couldn't stay, and so I woke up, worse than before."

"I never even got to sleep," Gaddes said before he thought.

A humorless smile of understanding graced the king's solemn face. "I love her," he admitted quietly. He let go of another arrow.

Bullseye.

"And I know you love Celena. You've been miserable this whole week, while you've been avoiding her. She hasn't been too happy herself, either."

Gaddes' forehead lowered slightly. "How do you know?"

"I've eaten dinner with her several times. She's nice, but I can't quite get over the fact she was Dilandau. I doubt anything could resolve that. But her face said it all when she looked out the window, daydreaming. I couldn't miss it."

The idea that she had been thinking of him had his stomach squeezing. But he tried his best to ignore the feeling.

"Gaddes, don't take this the wrong way," Van said quietly, setting the bow down again. "I know you're older than me. But don't waste your time like I did. As ridiculous as it sounds, listen to your heart." A bittersweet smile curved his lips. "I mean, look what happened to me."

"But Hitomi loves you back, doesn't she?"

He raised his head, a wealth of emotions hidden in his dark eyes. "True… But I wonder… If I had told her the truth earlier, and given us time to grow… would she still have felt the need to leave?"

…

….

…

…

…

…

I just have to say, I love having Van be the one to say that… siiiigh… Long, I know, but no way to break it up, and it's how I want it… so _there_.  
Hope you liked it, and as I said, we'll see when the next chapter comes about…  
'Til then, happy reading!

-wink


	8. The Best

And here it is!! The last and final chapter of Silent Storm! I feel so accomplished, and honestly, I love how this story has turned out. Thanks so much to all you reviewers – You were all so positive, and it really got me to keep going with this story! I really wanted to finish it during the holiday weekend before I ran out of time, so I suppose it's possible there may be revisions, but I doubt it. Because I rather like it.

…

Hope you find yourself in a toe-curling, big-grin state by the end!

…

…

…

…

…****

**Chapter 8: The Best**

…

Morning hit with a vengeance.

Gaddes groaned as the bright sunlight assaulted his sleep-deprived eyes. _What a terrible night_. After he'd spoken with Van, he had had ten times more things to think about.

Like, did Celena actually like him as more than a close companion, or was Van just imagining things? Or was 'close companion' good enough to start with? Was she too young to be thinking seriously now? After all, Millerna was already married, and she was close to Celena's age.

And would Allen approve of this, too? Or would he refuse to allow Gaddes to see Celena for whatever ridiculous reason he could think of?

And if that, would Gaddes go behind his best friend's back in order to follow his heart?

At least there was one certainty that he _didn't _have to wonder about.

He idly looked out the window, yawning widely.

He loved her.

It was so blatant, he was surprised that he had missed the seriousness of the situation the whole time.

Well, not missed. More like ignored.

This was the long-lasting, heart-pounding kind of love he'd thought he'd been ready for. But could anyone really be ready for this?

The signs were obvious now. The way he couldn't look away from her, the way her touch made strange things happen in his belly, the way her voice seemed to make his soul complete.

But as he dressed, he reflected on the difference between her and any other woman he'd ever known. It wasn't just the touch and the feelings – truth be told, he'd felt them before, just not quite this intensely.

It was also the way he felt the need to protect her at all costs, the way anything that made her sad ripped him apart, the way he could understand her without trying, the way her happiness would make the sun shine again…

He squinted at the offensive sun. _She must be awful happy today,_ he thought dryly.

…

* * *

… 

Allen brushed out his long hair, looking distractedly outside at the cheerful day beyond the castle walls.

_I don't think I've had a night that bad since Hitomi left._

He'd spent the whole night thinking about Celena and the implications of her sudden outburst. Was it mere coincidence that the moment Gaddes was mentioned, she always had a strong response, either physically or verbally?

It couldn't be. Something had happened on their trip back, either instantaneous or gradual. Allen wasn't sure. All he knew was that his little sister had suddenly grown up in front of his eyes. He felt his heart break. She seemed so young just a month ago… it was hard to see her as a woman. But he vowed that he would try his best to treat her as such.

After thinking over his many failures with other women, he decided something would have to change about him. What were the odds of every woman having issues? More likely the problem was with him, and he wasn't about to lose his only little sister to the same mistakes he'd made time and again. Not this time.

So where did this dramatic personal change leave him? What was he supposed to do now? His preconceived notions no long held up to the present problems.

And all this confusion and thought was just about Celena herself. How much more confounding did it become when the Gaddes-speculation was added into the equation? How was he supposed to feel about that?  
Allen blew out a heavy breath. It had indeed been a _long _night.

…

* * *

… 

Van finished tying the strings at the top of his red shirt as he walked out into the hall. After the sleepless night he'd had, he felt entitled to comfortable clothes.

After all, he was the king. Who would argue with him?

He pushed the hair off of his forehead. Maybe eventually he'd get used to their separation. But for now, the thought of Hitomi a world away was enough to make his chest ache.

"Hi."

The iridescent voice made him snap out of his morbid revelry. "Oh. Celena." He wondered how he had missed the pale blonde coming towards him in the empty hallway.

"How'd you sleep?"

He gave her a wry smile. "To be honest, terribly," he admitted, knowing she would've been able to call his lie by his appearance. "How about you?"

She smiled faintly. "Actually, I slept wonderfully."

_She would._ "So where are you off to?"

"My brother's."

From what he remembered, her brother had the room next to hers, so where she had been at this time in the morning was a mystery. But Van knew better than to ask. He was surprised she'd verbally spoken this much to him.

"Well, you have fun with that."

She nodded cheerfully, bidding him farewell with her big green-blue eyes.

Van tiredly resumed his original course, shaking his head, remembering the conversation with Gaddes the night before.

_These women don't even realize how many sleepless nights they cause us._

…

* * *

… 

Allen started at the knock on his door. "Come in."

Celena entered, her mood very much like the day outside. She smiled questioningly at her brother.

He hazarded a guess at what she was asking. "I slept marginally well."

She lifted an eyebrow, obviously not believing him, but shrugged, ignoring it.

"You look like you rested well," he stated.

She nodded.

He continued to look at her, his mind still mulling over everything that had kept him awake. A companionable silence fell between them, and for once Allen didn't feel uncomfortable. Instead, he debated asking the question on his mind.

He tried to think of all the times he'd seen Celena and Gaddes together. To sift through the memories and see if there was anything significant there.

She sat on his bed, simply staring contemplatively off into space.

"Do you… _like _Gaddes?" Allen blurted out.

Startled, she looked toward him with wide eyes.

"I don't mean anything by that," Allen said quickly, brushing his fingers through his hair. "I… I just would like to know."

He'd finally seen it in his memories. The way Gaddes would walk beside her, the way he looked at her sometimes across the dinner table, the way he would sometimes say her name.

Gaddes had always been a nice, kind guy, Allen knew that. But now… he sometimes was tender. And _that _was definitely a significant change.

Celena looked as if she were debating her answer. Finally, she whispered, "Yes."

Her revelation wasn't quite as stunning as Allen had expected it to be. "You mean… seriously."

His confusion had transferred to her the moment his mind had cleared. "Why are you asking?"

Allen looked away from his sister for a moment. "I'm sorry for pushing you to do things that you might not have wanted to do, Celena. And I'm sorry for not listening to you. I've been thinking all night, and I know I've probably been insufferable, and it'll probably take a while for me to change, if at all… But I'm leaving this decision up to you."

"What decision?"

Why was it now that he was unable to make his thoughts lucid? "If you… love Gaddes, then… you have my blessing."

No longer was she surprised… she was _shocked._ "What?"

He frowned slightly. "I really don't know how else to explain it, Celena."

She laughed breathlessly. "I mean… what changed your mind?"

"Maybe it's insanity," he quipped. "You should probably take advantage of it while you can."

Celena leaped from the bed into her brother's arms, hugging him happily. "You're serious?" she said again.

"Why wouldn't I be?"

She pulled back, smiling up into his eyes. "You're okay with all this?"

"Yes," he said truthfully.

Planting a heart-warming peck on his cheek, she practically flew out of the room, leaving Allen with no question as to where she was going.

He really _was_ okay, even though it might take some time to fully get used to everything. After all, Gaddes was his first mate and best friend. Loyal, honest, trustworthy. And if that was what Celena wanted, he doubted she could have chosen better than Gaddes. Although, since he was an older brother, he'd probably feel obligated to punch Gaddes at least once…

…

* * *

… 

Gaddes walked towards the Crusade, scratching the top of his head idly. Was Celena up yet? He desperately wanted to know where she stood on the matter.

And Allen. When would he talk with Allen? He knew he'd have to, it was just a matter of finding the right words to explain everything clearly. Maybe he'd get away without too many problems from his boss. First, he'd probably talk with Allen before Celena. Better not to risk an older brother's wrath; especially a knight of Asturia.

Before he could decide on anything else, he heard a faint voice calling his name. He turned around, only to be nearly knocked over by a sweet-smelling blonde girl.

"Whoa, whoa," he said, trying to push her off of his chest, but her arms were wrapped rather solidly around his torso. "What's up?" Her pressure was making his head light.

She tilted her head up towards his, eyes shining. "Kiss me again."

His eyes widened, and he again tried to nudge her away. "I don't think you need any more practice in _that_, Celena."

Her smile turned devious. "Who said anything about practice?"

He could've sworn his jaw hit the ground… or it would've if Celena hadn't been standing so close. "W-what?"

"Well, I don't know about you, but I wasn't really 'practicing' last time."

Gaddes frowned in confusion. "What?"

She laughed. "You believed me? That I just wanted you to teach me how to kiss?" She thought for a moment. "Well, I guess I did, but I only wanted _you_ to be the one."

He blinked. "What?"

"You didn't see it coming at all, did you?"

He shook his head dumbly.

"You thought everything I did was because of my 'innocence,' didn't you?" She winked. "When I wanted you to play in the water, snuggled up close beside you, happened to find places to be with you alone. You thought I didn't mean to do any of that?"

Nothing made sense at all. "You planned all that?"

"Well… not planned, exactly. More like took advantage when I could."

"You mean… getting sick-"

"That, I didn't intend to do," she admitted. "But it sure got you to stay close, didn't it?"

"You…" he trailed off, not knowing what to say to this startling revelation. Who saw _that _one coming?

She moved her hands to cup his face gently. "I've been in love with you ever since I first met you on the Crusade, and every day I keep falling more in love with you. I've been trying this whole trip to get you to fall in love with me." Celena smiled lightly as she traced her thumbs along his skin. "You shaved."

"Well, I thought it was time," he said, trying to get his thoughts in a straight line again. "You… love me?"

"You big oaf, you didn't see it every time I looked at you?"

"I… guess not." He let out a heavy breath. "You saw it in me, though, didn't you?" he stated simply.

She cocked an eyebrow. "I guess it _would _be nice to hear, though."

"I love you." He kissed her forehead. "I don't know how I missed it."

"Neither do I."

He smiled for a moment, until another thought surfaced. "Wait… what about Allen?"

Celena tapped his nose lightly. "Don't worry about that."

His eyebrows rose skeptically. "Are you sure? If I know Allen…"

"I talked with him."

He paused again. "So… he knows?"

She nodded.

Gaddes thought for a moment. "Still, it'd probably be good to talk with him first… get off to a good start, you know. I mean, I don't really know much about this serious-type business and all, but I seem to remember having to ask the brother or the father or whoever was in charge for permission and all that-"

She rolled her eyes. "Good Lord, Gaddes, you talk so much! Will you just kiss me already?"

He grinned, feeling his confidence return. "If you insist."

…

…

…

* * *

… 

…

"So that's how it happened?"

Gaddes nodded with a slight smile. The four-year-old girl in his lap grinned, very much like Celena in her coloring and eyes. She clapped her hands happily. "I like that story."

"I guess it was alright," his ten-year-old son Darren said, sitting cross-legged on the rug near the fireplace. "But there was all that _mushy_ stuff."

He ruffled his son's hair. "I doubt you'll feel that way in a while."

The thirteen-year-old girl sighed with a grin, looking up at her father with nearly mirror-image eyes. "I thought it was _romantic._"

"You think _everything's _romantic, Lexa," Darren said with his tongue out.

"Do not!" Lexa counted scornfully. "You are just too immature to understand."

Darren rolled his blue eyes exaggeratedly, pushing his dark hair back. "Whatever."

Gaddes chuckled. "Jeez, kids, don't fight about stupid stuff. If you're gonna fight, make it over something worthwhile, like who gets to help mom dry dishes before they sleep."

"Gaddes!" a gentle reprimanding voice was heard from the other room.

His kids jumped up and gave their father each a kiss on the cheek. "'Night, Dad!" they said hurriedly, scurrying to their rooms. In the silence, the little girl in his lap turned to him with serious eyes. "I'll help, Daddy."

His heart melted. "Don't worry, sweetie," he said. "Daddy will help Mommy tonight, alright?"

"Okay, Daddy."

He hefted her into the air as he stood. "Now, it's time for you to go to sleep."

"Will you read me a story?" she asked hopefully.

"I just told you a pretty long one, Rae," he said with a laugh. "It's time to sleep."

"You sure?"

"Positive," he said, giving her a kiss.

Rae wrapped her little arms around his neck, nuzzling his bearded cheek. "You're so fuzzy, Daddy."

He laughed again, the smile staying on his face even after he had bid all the children good night and tucked them securely in their beds.

Celena turned from the sink questioningly as he entered the kitchen.

"They're all asleep. Or so they say," Gaddes said with a smile. "Hideki too?"

Celena nodded at his reference to their youngest. "I put him down about a half hour ago."

Gaddes looked appreciatively at his wife of fourteen years, noting the way time and four children had rounded her curves rather kindly, to his thinking. He knew the gray was starting to show in his beard, and the creases in his brow continued to deepen, but to him his wife was even more gorgeous than the day he married her.

She looked quizzically up at his continued attention. "What?"

"You're beautiful."

Even after all this time, she still blushed at such a simple statement.

He picked up a towel she had hanging to dry and began to dry the dishes. "Have you heard from Allen?"

She nodded, still smiling slightly to herself. "He and Eries finally came back from their honeymoon."

"I still can't get over that match. Who saw that one coming? I thought Eries was a priestess."

Celena shrugged.

"They took long enough, anyway. You'd think they would know it when they saw it."

She shrugged again.

"How are Van, Hitomi, and the boys doing?"

"Apparently Jacen hurt his ankle when he and Mika were trying to see who could jump the highest without using their wings."

Gaddes glanced back in the general direction of the children's rooms. "Good thing Darren doesn't have wings, or else he would be jumping off of buildings."

Celena rolled her eyes. "He'll probably try that anyway. He's _your _son."

"Hey." Gaddes frowned. "He's yours too." He bumped her hip lightly.

She was obviously trying to hold back her smile.

He inhaled her sweet scent, bringing his head down towards her neck and making an approving noise in the back of his throat.

A laugh escaped her. "I heard Lexa ask what it felt like when you met me," she said teasingly, shifting away from his insistent attentions.

"Yeah?" He was already putting the dishes away from her hands back in the sink.

"What did you tell her, anyway?"

He grinned, pinning her in place beside the sink. "Like a silent storm," he whispered, bending down to catch her in a kiss that hadn't lost any luster or magic.

After a while, he broke away, leaning back to gaze into her face. "You're one hell of a kisser, Celena," he declared with a familiar lopsided smile.

She winked at him, tapping his nose gently. "I learned from the best."

…

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**{the end}**

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I think the best love stories are the ones that end when they're not young and beautiful, but even more in love than ever… always makes me smile and sigh… :)

As I said, it's been great going through this story, and I hope you all enjoyed the ending! I know I felt all gooshy writing it and proofreading it afterwards… so I figured if it affects me like that, it'll have to effect some other people at least half that much, right? I'll probably see some of you guys later in "Counterpoint" when I get back to doing that fic. Until I do, I bid you happy reading and writing!

-wink


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